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PRELIMINARY REPORT 


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LAND AND MINERAL COMPANY, 



FOR 1858. 



CINCINNATI: 

WRIQHTSON & COMPANY, PRINTERS, 167 WALNUT STREET. 

1858. 



















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CINCINNATI: 

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EEPORT 


OF THE 



The President and Directors of the Nantahala and Tuckasege 
Land and Mineral Company beg leave, respectfully, to report 
as follows: 

At the organization of this Association, it was found that the 
Agent, David Christy, Esq., had been able to secure a much 
greater amount of mineral property than had been anticipated 
in the outset of his labors. To organize a single company to 
operate upon so large an extent of lands as 100,000 acres, it was 
believed would render it too unwieldy to be managed with profit. 
For this reason it was resolved to form two companies, each with 
50,000 acres of land, and upon this basis to issue ^2,000,000 of 
stocks to each company. Of this capital stock one-fifth was 
set apart for completing the companies’ engagements, testing 
and developing the mines, and bringing their products into mar¬ 
ket ; the remaining stocks belonging to the corporators and their 
associates being exempt from assessment until this fund should 
be exhausted. The companies were to be named respectively, 
The Nantahala Mining Company, and The Tuckasege Mining 
Company. But in applying for charters to the Legislature of 
North Carolina, an Act of Incorporation for the Tuckasege 
Company alone was granted, and that for the Nantahala Com¬ 
pany deferred. 

This policy was dictated, doubtless, by no desire to embarrass 
the Association, or prevent the development of the resources of 
the State. It has operated hardly, however, upon those citizens 
of North Carolina who have become interested in the enterprise. 



4 


The plan upon which the organization was effected, has placed a 
large amount of the stocks of the Association in the hands of 
citizens of that State, from whom the property was purchased. 
All the transactions were based upon the contemplated organi¬ 
zation of two companies, and their receiving charters from the 
Legislature. The script of the companies, securing to the holder 
the right to stock, when the charters should be obtained, was 
accordingly issued. The failure of the Nantahala Company to 
secure a charter has disappointed these parties, as many of them, 
in the course of their dealings, had arranged for the transfer of 
their stocks. As the script issued in advance, by the Associ¬ 
ation, differs from the stocks under the charter, which are free 
from individual liability, this failure has led to positive embar¬ 
rassment in many cases and to discontent in all. And the rea¬ 
son is this: the Nantahala Company can not go to work, like 
the Tuckasege Company, until it receives authority from the 
Legislature, and its script, therefore, will be declined, where the 
Tuckasege will be accepted, as the latter company can progress 
with its work at any time. 

But, as the Legislature will re-assemble next winter, this tem¬ 
porary inconvenience will doubtless be removed by the grant of 
a charter to th^ Nantahala Company also. In the mean time, 
as the charter for the Tuckasege Company affords ample powers 
for progressing on a large scale, and the property is not yet di¬ 
vided, the Association will take care that the preliminary devel¬ 
opments shall be so made as to inure equally to the benefit of 
both companies. This course will be pursued in the confident 
belief that the needed charter will be granted in due time. 

From former Railroad Reports, it was inferred by us that we 
might have commenced operations during the last autumn or 
winter, and preliminary steps were adopted to do so, when the 
money crisis put a check upon all new enterprises. The Board 
are now determined to commence operations at the Copper Mines, 
so as to be ready for shipments as soon as the Railroad is com¬ 
pleted near enough to them to justify the measure. In this work 
there will be no unnecessary delay, as the Association can not 
afford to have the capital already invested lying unproductive; 
nor would it be in accordance with sound business principles to 


5 


commence a premature outlay of additional capital, which would 
also be idle until the completion of the Railroad. 

The Plumbago mine will be opened at once, and the mineral 
tested practically for all the purposes to which it can be applied. 
The experiments thus far have been of the most satisfactory na¬ 
ture, as will be seen by reference to the report of our Geologist. 

The company can, in this city, at any time, purchase the very 
best steam engines and machinery for working their copper 
mines, and have them upon the ground to commence operations 
in a few weeks. As soon, therefore, as the Railroad has made 
such progress as will warrant an opinion as to the time of its 
completion, the Board are deeply interested in having their works 
erected and the mining prosecuted vigorously. For details, the 
reader is referred to the report of our Geologist appended hereto. 
The Board have the satisfaction also of stating that all the ma¬ 
terial facts included in his report have been fully confirmed by 
intelligent citizens of North Carolina, who have recently visited 
Cincinnati, and who live in the vicinity of the mines, and have 
frequently visited them. 

AN ACT to he entitled “’A/i Act to incorporate the Tuckasege 
Mining CompanyP 

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of North Caro^ 
lina^ and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That Daniel F. Good- 
hue, John Probasco, David Christy and their associates, successors and assigns, 
are hereby created and constituted a body politic and corporate,by the name, 
style and title of “ The Tuckasege Mining Company,’^ for the purpose of ex¬ 
ploring for copper, lead, and other metals and minerals, and for mining, vend¬ 
ing, smelting and working the same, and by that name may sue and be sued, 
plead and be impleaded, appear, prosecute and defend, in any courts of law 
and equity whatsoever, in all suits and actions ; may have a common seal, and 
the same alter at pleasure; may contract and be contracted with; and for the 
purpose aforesaid, may purchase, sell, hold and convey personal property and 
real estate not exceeding one hundred thousand acres of land, for the term of 
ten years from and after the ratification of this act, to be reduced to twenty 
thousand acres from and after the expiration of said ten years, and the lands 
so conveyed shall be held by said company in fee simple, with power to use 
and improve the same, to sell or lease the same or any part thereof, or to make 
contracts for the working or leasing of its mines, and to do with said lands 
and the mines therein, under the limitations of this act, whatever an owner 
of lands in fee simple may do according to the laws of this State. 

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the capital stock of said company shall 
not be less than two hundred thousand dollars, and shall not exceed two mil¬ 
lions of dollars, and shall be divided into shares of one hundred dollars each; 
each share shall entitle the holder thereof to one vote, and all votes may be 
cast in person or by proxy. 

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That so soon as two hundred thousand dollars 


X 


6 


are subscribed to the capital stock of said company, the first meeting of said 
corporation may be called by the persons named in this act or a majority of 
them, at such times and places as may be agreed upon by the persons nhmed 
in this act; and at such meeting and all other meetings legally notified, said 
corporation may make, alter or repeal such by-laws and regulations for the 
management of the business of said corporation, as a majority of the stock- 
hfdders or the directors elected by them, may direct, not repugnant to the 
laws of this State and of the United States. 

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted^ That the said corporation may provide for the 
sale and transfer of the shares of its capital stock in such manner and form 
as such corporation shall from time to time deem expedient; and whenever 
said company shall by purchase, lease or otherwise, become possessed of any 
mine or mines, the directors of such company may make a separate and dis¬ 
tinct interest of each mine, and divide said interest into such number of shares 
as they may deem expedient, not exceeding in amount five hundred thousand 
dollars for any one mine, and may buy and collect assessments, forfeit and 
sell delinquent shares, declare and pay dividends on the shares in any of 
said mines, in such manner as the by-laws may direct. 

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted^ That said corporation shall have power to build 
and construct any wagon road or railroad from any of its mines, to connect 
with any railroad or other road now built or which may hereafter be con¬ 
structed, passing into or through the counties of Cherokee, Macon and Jack- 
son, or either of them, or passing through the States of South Carolina, Geor¬ 
gia or Tennessee, or either of said States, which adjoin to said counties of 
Cherokee, Macon and Jackson, or either of them, by and with the consent of 
the President and Directors governing and controlling said roads at the time 
of the connection proposed. 

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted^ That if such corporation shall construct any 
wagon road or railroad as provided in the preceding section, it shall have 
power to appropriate the necessary lands for the right of way therefor, upon 
paying the owner of such lands a just compensation for the lands so appro¬ 
priated, which compensation shall be estimated by three disinterested free¬ 
holders of the county in which said road may be constructed, who shall be 
appointed by the County or Superior Court, for such county. Said freehold¬ 
ers in estimating such damage, shall deduct therefrom the benefit which will 
accrue to the other real property of such owner in said county by reason of 
the construction of said road. 

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted^ That if said corporation shall construct any 
road contemplated by this act, it shall have power to charge, collect and re¬ 
ceive such rate of tolls or fare for the passage of passengers or freight thereon 
as other like roads are by law entitled to receive ; and if the company shall 
construct any railroad contemplated by this act, it shall have power to con¬ 
nect with any other railroad with which it may intersect, by such contract as 
to the directors of the companies making such connection may seem just and 
right. 

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Directors of 
said company to have regular books of record and transfer, kept by the Sec¬ 
retary or Treasurer thereof, at all times open to the inspection of the stock¬ 
holders. 

Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, That the mining operations and its ownership 
of real estate shall be confined exclusively to the counties of Cherokee, Macon 
and Jackson. 

Sec. 10. Be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect and be in force 
from and after its passage. 

Read three times and ratified in General Assembly this the 24th day of 
January, A. D. 1857. J. G. SHEPHERD, 

Speaker of the House of Commons. 

W. W. AVERY, 

, Speaker of the Senate. 


7 


STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, l 
Office of Secretary of State, j 

I, 'William Hill, Secretary of State, in and for the State of North Carolina, 
do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original on file in 
this office. Given under my hand this 30th day of January, 1857. 

W. HILL, Secretary. 

Per Rufus H. Page. 

The organization of the Tuckasege Mining Company, under 
the charter, took place, at the office of the company in Cincin¬ 
nati, on March 10th, 1857. After the acceptance of the charter 
l)y the stockholders, the following Board of Directors was chosen: 
D. F. ‘Goodhue, John Probasco, W. B. Probasco, David Christy, 
and Geo. W. Goodhue. 

The Directors then proceeded to elect their officers for the 
ensuing year, when D. F. Goodhue was chosen President; John 
Probasco, Treasurer, and W. B. Probasco, Secretary. It was, 
on motion, resolved, that the last named gentlemen be an Execu¬ 
tive Committee, for the transaction of the business of the Com¬ 
pany. 

A committee on by-laws was appointed, who reported rules 
for the regulation of the business of the company, which, at a 
subsequent meeting were considered, amended and adopted. 

On March 10, 1858, in pursuance of the requirements of the 
charter, the stockholders of the Tuckasege Mining Company 
met at the office of the Company, in Cincinnati, and proceeded 
to elect a Board of Directors for the ensuing year, when the fol¬ 
lowing gentlemen were declared duly elected: D. F. Goodhue, 
Durbin Ward, W. B. Probasco, David Christy, and Andrew J. 
Patton, of North Carolina. The Directors then proceeded to 
the election of the officers for the ensuing year, when D. F. 
Goodhue was reelected President, Durbin Ward, Secretary, and 
W. B. Probasco, Treasurer. It was then, on motion, resolved, 
that the last named gentlemen be the Executive Committee for 
the transaction of the business of the Company. 

The Nantahala Company, not having obtained a charter, is 
left under the control of the Association as originally organized, 
and all its interests will be managed as from the first, until a 
charter is obtained. 


REPORT OF THE GEOLOGIST. 


Messrs. Goodhue, Probasco & Co.: 

In the preliminary report of last year, the main facts con¬ 
nected with the organization of your Association were briefly 
stated. As that report is out of print, it may be well to repeat 
some of the statements in the present one, while embodymg in 
it the new and important information since collected. The whole 
may be embraced under the following heads: 

1. The geological and mineralogical character of the country. 

2. The value of your lands for mining purposes, as inferable 
from the openings made upon them, and a comparison of their 
mineral leads with those of Tennessee, where full developments 
of the mines have been made. 

3. The facilities for the transportation of metals and ores to 
distant markets, when your mines are fully opened. 

4. The value of your lands as adapted to pasturage, the grow¬ 
ing of wool, general agricultural purposes, and fruit and grape 
culture. 

In presenting the information collected under these several 
heads, the aim will be to afford a clear view of the whole sub¬ 
ject, at the same time avoiding lengthened details in the body of 
the report. With this view there is given, in an Appendix, a 
large range of facts and observations on the Culture of the 
Vine in the South-western Alleghanies,” and the Climatology ” 
of that region as compared with the vine districts of Europe. 
To this is added an article on Fog and Rain in the Mountains,’’ 
designed to show the advantages of that region over those of 
less altitude, in the permanency of its springs and streams of 
water. Mr. Guerin, whose Letter on Grape Culture, at Vinona, 
is given in the appendix, is a gentleman of highly finished edu¬ 
cation, both in literary and scientific fields of knowledge, and 
every way qualified to act as the leader in the development of 
vine cultivation in the Southern highlands. He is located about 
seventy-five miles westward of the district including your lands. 



9 


You will observe that maDy new and important facts have been 
ascertained during the last year, all tending to enhance the value 
of your property. With these remarks, I may proceed : 

1. Geological and Mineralogical character of the country. 

The rocks of the region under consideration are of the same 
age. Geologically considered, as those of portions of Tennessee, 
Kentucky, Ohio, and other Western States; but they have been 
upturned on their edges, at various angles, by volcanic forces, 
and re-crystallized by heat. The change thus produced upon 
them is designated in Geology by the terra Metamorphic. It 
was during the period in which the rocks of North Carolina were 
undergoing this change, probably, that the metallic veins were 
injected into them. Like the rocks of the States referred to, 
the Metamorphic Bocks of Western North Carolina are regularly 
stratified, and maintain, throughout extensive ranges, great uni¬ 
formity of structure and mineral composition. 

There has been no Geological survey of that part of North 
Carolina which includes your lands. Professor Safford has 
made a survey of that portion of Tennessee which includes its 
Copper mines, and adjoins Cherokee county. North Carolina, on 
the west. He was appointed State Geologist, and his first Re¬ 
port was printed in 1856, by order of the Legislature. Two 
additional surveys of the Ducktown region have been made by 
Professional Geologists, whose Reports have been printed by 
those interested in the mines. 

On commencing my investigations, none of these Reports had 
come into my possession, and I had to begin my labors unaided 
by the previous examinations of others. The Geology of the 
Copper region of Tennessee was first ascertained, and from 
thence the survey was extended eastward to the region through 
which the Charleston and Cincinnati Railroad is located, and in 
process of construction. 

The metallic veins ascertained to exist in the district named, 
include copper ores, lead ore including silver, iron ores,plumbago 
and gold. Ochres, the best of their kind for paints, also exist in 
one or two places. 

The district in which your lands have been purchased, being 
occupied by the Cherokee Indians until a late period, and too 


10 


distant from any practicable means of transportation, long failed 
to attract attention, and was thus left open for your agent to 
take the first choice of the mineral lands. 

The Geology of the mineral belt is simple and easily compre¬ 
hended. The Smoky Mountain, on its Northern side, is com¬ 
posed of sandstones, conglomerates, shales and slates, alternating 
with each other, and so far altered by heat as to be called Semi- 
Metamorfhic. The strata are tilted up at a high angle, and di'p^ 
generally, to the South-east. The upturned edges of the rocks 
are to be seen ranging from North-east to South-west for many 
miles. Veins of Quartz roch^ from a few inches to more than 
ten feet in thickness, are protruded through the fissures in these 
strata, and in many places give a fair yield of gold. In crossing 
the Northern side of the mineral belt, these Quartz veins are 
not found to be very numerous. 

To the south of this Semi-Metamorphic range, the Metamor- 
flfiic Rocks occur, and extend beyond the southern margin of 
the mineral belt. They consist of Gneiss, Mica Slate, Korn- 
Uende Slate, Talcose Slate, Argillaceous^ Slate, and Chlorite Slate, 
with their usual variations. These several classes of rocks alter¬ 
nate or intermingle with each other, the separate bands being at 
times many thousands of feet in thickness, while at others they 
measure no more than a few yards. Some ranges of metamor- 
phic limestone, constituting, in places, a very good marble, are 
included in this portion of the mineral belt. This limestone 
often includes some lead ore, known to be argentiferous, or silver- 
hearing. The richest gold placers in Western North Carolina 
were found on Valley River, Cherokee county, along one of these 
ranges of limestone. Quartz veins, some of which are barren, 
and others rich in gold, occur in these rocks also ; and all the 
workable copper mines have been found within their range. But 
the copper mines, mostly, have been found in what are called 
the Iron Gossan leads, and but seldom in the Qartz leads. 

The Metallic Veins of the region under review, occur among 
the strata of the rocks described, as engraved plates in a book 
among the printed leaves. They have not been produced by the 
causes which formed the rocks, but have been forced into their 
present position, between the strata, probably, by volcanic action* 


11 


As the engraving lies between the printed pages, so the metallic 
veins lie between the strata, dipping as they dip, and appear¬ 
ing in outcropping lines along the surface as they do.” The 
origin of these veins having been volcanic, the fissures into which 
they were injected would be produced in the weaker rocks, or 
those whose layers would have the least adhesion, and separate 
most easily. Thus the greater portion of the discovered mines 
are in Mica slate, or Talcose slate, which, of all the classes of 
rocks existing here, would be the most easily fissured by volca¬ 
nic agencies. Some of the copper mines opened, however, are 
in the Gneissoid rocks, which are more massive than the slates. 

The metallic veins, though not of very frequent occurrence, 
in crossing the mineral belt, yet seem to be arranged in groups. 
At Ducktown, Tennessee, there are at least seven or eight dis¬ 
tinct veins of copper, running generally parallel to each other, 
and limited in their North and South range to a width of about 
three miles. These metallic veins are usually composed of 
three distinct portions. The upper part is a mass of light porous 
hydrated per oxyd of iron, to which the miner’s term gossan is 
universally applied. This gossan is found on the surface at many 
points along the outcrops of the veins, especially on the knolls 
and ridges. Sometimes it occurs in great banks or blocks, scat¬ 
tered over a space of fifty or a hundred feet wide, while at others 
but little of it is to be seen. The depth to which it extends in 
the vein is variable, being often from seventy to ninety feet on 
the high grounds, but in the valleys perhaps about twenty-five. 
The depth appears to be the same as that to which it is neces¬ 
sary to go—in digging wells, for example—to reach water.* 

Immediately below the gossan there occurs a bed or mass of 
dark or black copper ore, some of which contains as high as fifty 
per cent, of metallic copper, but averaging from sixteen to twenty. 
Its vertical thickness is variable; at some points it swells out in 
great masses many cubic yards in volume; ‘then again it becomes 
a thin, irregular layer. The average thickness, perhaps, is 
between two and three feet. In width, of course, it varies with 
the veins, which at some points are fifty and sixty feet wide, 
though the average is much lower. This bed of black copper 


* Prof. Safford. 



12 


ore has furnished, as yet, nearly all the ore shipped from the 
mines in Tennessee.* 

The lowest, or third portion of these veins, is composed of a 
compound sulphuret of iron and copper. ' The two minerals are 
commingled in distinct crystals, the sulphuret of iron, however, 
greatly predominating in the upper portion, while the sulphuret 
of copper, or the yellow copper, as it is called, increases in de¬ 
scending upon the lode.'\ This portion of the vein is continuous 
downward, and has no termination, probably, except in the great 
interior source of metallic veins. 

Thus, then, these metallic veins are composed of three parts': 
the iron gossan, the black copper ore, and the compound sulphu¬ 
ret of iron and copper. The last named ores are called, by the 
miners, the “ arsenical iron,” when the sulphuret of iron pre¬ 
dominates. 

The question very naturally arises, how has this condition of 
things been produced? In the Reports before me, two attempts 
are made to solve the question, and the writers agree in opinion. 

Says one: “ It is quite evident that the whole vein up to the 
very surface (and far into the air, tor it has suffered from the 
same denudation that has moulded the surrounding country), 
was originally a compound sulphuret of iron and copper. The 
rains on the hills finding their way down from the surface through 
the upper part of the vein, and issuing in springs at water level, 
have gradually filtered down the copper to water level, and car¬ 
ried off the sulphur, leaving all the upper mass a red oxyd of 
iron, and underneath it a transverse layer of precipitated black 
oxyd of copper, below which, the process, of course, could not 
be carried on, and the vein remains a body of sulphuret of iron 
and copper.”t 

Another says : “ The vein was once undoubtedly filled to the 
top with this material. [The sulphuret of iron and copper.] 
The gossan and the black oxyd have been derived from its decom¬ 
position, which has taken place mainly, as we think, through the 
action of water. The original ‘ arsenical ’ ore, in the slow pro¬ 
gress of its decomposition downwards, has left behind the result- 

* Prof. Safford. _ t The term lodk is applied to any regular vein, whether of metals 

or minerals, or both combined. 

I Report of J. B. Lesley, Esq., Topographical Geologist. 



13 


ing light porous gossan. The heavier hlaclc oxyd^ on the other 
hand, in some form or other, has been constantly carried down¬ 
wards, until it has formed, resting immediately on the undecom¬ 
posed mass, the bed of black ore as we now find it.”* 

Among the specimens which I brought home for your inspec¬ 
tion, there are some of the yellow copper ore^ in which the 
“arsenical iron” is the exclusive gangue stone in others 
you will notice crystals of tremolite, or other earthy minerals 
allied to hornblende^ disseminated through the arsenical iron, 
side by side with the yellow copper ore ; while in others still, the 
arsenical iron is absent, and these earthy minerals, alone, com¬ 
pose the gangue stone. Now, wherever a copper vein has but 
little or none of the arsenical iron associated with its ores, there 
the explorer for copper leads must expect but little or none of the 
iron gossan on the surface, because there has been nothing in 
the vein from which it could be formed. In such cases, the lead 
must be traced by other indications, well knowm to Geologists. 

Another remark is needed, in reference to the origin of larger 
or smaller amounts of gossan on the surface. The Ducktown 
mines do not occur on the mountain ranges, but are in a series 
of low ridges included in a cove between surrounding mountains. 
It is the opinion of some, that these hills were once of equal 
height with the adjacent mountains, but have been reduced by 
the denuding action of water. It is a general rule, that metallic 
veins, not affected by chemical action from above, increase in 
width as they are followed downwards. It would appear from 
this, that metallic veins, in their protrusion into the strata, have 
contracted as they approached the surface, and that where de¬ 
nudation has diminished the height of the mountains, the metallic 
veins must be of greater thickness than where they maintain 
their original elevation. The Ducktown mines being on grounds 
many hundred feet lower than the mountain ranges, will present 
their veins in as favorable a position, as to thickness, as the 
mountain leads would show if mined to the depth of a thousand 
feet. As, then, the amount of gossan exposed on the surface 
must depend upon the thickness of the veins, and the proportion 

* Report of Prof. Safford. 

t The term gangue rock is applied to any rock, or ore which includes in its mass any valuable 
metals. 



14 


of arsenical iron in them, it will be readily inferred that the iron 
gossan leads, where they pass through the mountains, must 
necessarily make less show than on the low grounds. With 
these statements I shall proceed to the second topic to be con¬ 
sidered. 

2. The value of your lands for mining purposes, as inferable 
from the openings made upon them, and a comparison of their 
mineral leads with those of Tennessee, where full developments 
of the nlines have been made. 

The Little Tennessee Copper Mine. —This mine is located 
ten miles south of Franklin, Macon county, near the Tennessee 
river. It is only about a mile from the Rabun Gap Railroad, 
and four miles from the Georgia line. It is opened on an iron 
gossan lead. The copper ore was struck at a depth of thirty 
feet, and several tons of ore have been thrown up into pile under 
a shed. It is the Hack ore., intermingled with sulphuret of iron. 
One specimen, analyzed at the time the mine was opened, I was 
informed, yielded forty per cent, of copper. Other specimens 
taken from the tunnel near the shaft, by myself, have been ana¬ 
lyzed by Dr. D. D. Owen, and found to yield from 84 to 38 per 
cent, of copper. Prof. Joseph Locke analyzed a specimen which 
had been weathered 18 months, and found it containing about 
ten per cent. 

The thickness of this vein has not yet been ascertained, but 
it promises to be amply large for profitable mining. The grounds 
upon which it is opened are of moderate height, and a very large 
amount of gossan, strewn over the surface, indicates a vein of 
considerable width. 

During last summer another opening was made upon this lead, 
at the distance of a half mile from your mine, and a small de¬ 
posit of black copper ore discovered. This is important as show¬ 
ing the hearing of the lead, which could not be accurately deter¬ 
mined previously, because of the want of continuity in the sur¬ 
face gossan. 

This mine must be viewed as a valuable acquisition not only 
on account of its favorable location so near the Railroad, but 
because of its being so promising as to the width of the lode. 
The Nantahala Copper Mine.— This mine is located on 


15 


the spurs of the Nantahala mountain, on a branch of Cartooge- 
jayee creek, about four miles south-west of Franklin, Macon 
county, and from two to three miles from the track of the Rail¬ 
road, the precise locality of which, at that point, is not yet de¬ 
termined. The opening of this mine was superintended by Prof. 
C. D. Smith, an intelligent Geologist, late of Knoxville, Ten¬ 
nessee. The shafts and tunnels had not been touched for six 
months, or more, previous to my first visit, and were so obstruct¬ 
ed that it was difiicult to see the ore in place. But the speci¬ 
mens of both black and yellow ore, preserved in the collection 
of Prof. Smith, on my first visit to his cabinet, a year and a half 
since, and some which I obtained myself from the mine, on my 
last visit, show that the lode has a fair prospect of being rich in 
copper. Prof. Smith, in describing this mine, says : 

“ The Nantahala vein is enclosed by Gneiss, the gangue of 
which is principally a Tiornhlendic material with granular quartz. 
Some of the specimens resemble green stone in some of their 
features. This gangue is quite distinct from the strata in which 
it is enclosed, and has shown itself to be quite an ore-hearing 
material so far as developed. I regret being unable to speak 
more fully of the width of the lode, not having cut through it. 
It has been penetrated some eight or ten feet by the tunnels, 
but from the present condition of the works, I am unable to fur¬ 
nish you with a suit of the best specimens from this vein. You 
will find the specimens which I hand you to contain copper py¬ 
rites and a sort of gray sulphuret of copper. While prosecuting 
the work, I also found some pockets of hlach oxyd of copper, all 
of which have either been carried away or destroyed in the rub¬ 
bish of the mine.” 

The Land Agent of the Association, Felix Axley, Esq., em¬ 
ployed Capt. F. F. Oram, of Ducktown mines, an experienced 
mining superintendent from Cornwall, England, to accompany 
him upon a tour of exploration. The following statement was 
afterwards obtained from Capt. Oram, with the apology for its 
briefness, that he was not aware that a formal report was expect¬ 
ed from him, and his notes, taken on the route, were but few and 
insufiicient for a satisfactory report, such as, in justice to him¬ 
self, he should desire to make. What he has communicated. 


16 


however, is very important, and sufficiently full for all practical 
purposes. 

‘‘ The Geological Formation, which I examined for your Com¬ 
pany, is composed of Mica Slate, Gneiss, Syenitic Gneiss, etc. 
It is the transition formation of the old Geologist, highly inclined, 
and metaliferous. It covers an extent of country not less than 
twenty miles in width, and its length is, probably, several hun¬ 
dred. It is found passing through the south-eastern part of 
Cherokee, Macon, and Jackson counties, North Carolina. In 
this belt is found several Metallic Veins, marked, generally, by 
large outcrops of the per oxyd of iron, mixed with granular 
quartz. The strike of these veins is about N. 40° E., or nearly 
parallel with the strata. However, at some points, they vary 
from that course from 10 to 15 degrees. 

In this belt your Nantahala mine is found, marked on the 
surface by decomposing hornblende, zinc blende, granulated 
quartz, and a small amount of 'per oxyd of iron. But little has, 
as yet, been done upon this vein, but where the vein has been 
penetrated a few feet below the surface, the gangue rock shows 
copper, sulphuret of iron, granulated quartz, epidote, various spe¬ 
cies of the hornblende family of minerals, and a large amount of 
sulphuret of zinc, which I have no doubt contains within itself a 
small amount of cadmium. The vein at this place is well marked, 
and shows, according to surface appearances, a width of about 
thirty-five feet. 

I am, of course, not prepared at present to say what changes 
may take place at any supposed depth, but, from the number of 
minerals it contains, it shows itself to be highly metallic, and 
promises to be productive. 

‘‘ As to your other openings I can say but little, as I have 
never examined them, but presume they are all found on the 
same formation, and, from information received, I have no doubt 
of their value. I say this, because I have seen nothing opened, 
in the shape of a vein, on this range, but has produced copper ; 
and I think, by a careful examination and judicious expenditure 
of money, many good things embraced in the Company’s lands 
will be brought to light. 

Yours, with respect, F. F. Oram.” 

David Christy, Esq. 


17 


There were doubts at one time, when the supplies of black ore 
were found to be limited, whether the mines of Ducktown would 
be permanent. This question could only be settled by testing 
the lower portion of the lode for yellow ore. This was under¬ 
taken by the Hiwassee Company, and a shaft has been sunk so 
as to cut the lode at the depth of seven hundred feet. The work 
is superintended by Capt. Harris, an intelligent English gentle¬ 
man, familiar with mining. At the depth of one hundred and 
forty feet, an adit was run out from the shaft to the lode, the 
results of which he reports thus : “ The farther I get into the 
lode, the better it proves to be. I am at present five feet in the 
lode; if it continues to improve, it will surpass anything I ever 
saw.” Again, at a later d^’te, he says: ‘‘The vein has been 
intersected by a cross-cut sixty feet lower, being two hundred 
feet from the surface. At this depth it has greatly improved 
Masses of fine yellow sulphuret of copper occur in abundance. 
This is considered as settling the value of the mines.” 

A word as to the productiveness of the Ducktown copper 
mines. The first mine was discovered in 1850, and no shipments 
of ores, on a large scale, could then be made, nor until long 
afterwards, for want of roads. Even at present it is forty miles 
to Cleveland, on the East Tennessee Railroad, the nearest point 
at which railroad transportation can be reached. The earlier 
shipments had to be made to Dalton, Georgia, a distance of 
seventy-four miles. Notwithstanding these inconveniences, 
there had been 14,291 tons of copper ore shipped from the Duck- 
town mines, before the close of 1855, which was sold for more 
than a million of dollars. 

To enable you to judge of the productive capacity of these 
mines, it need only be said, that, in the month of September, 
1855, seven mines produced a little more than 807J tons of ore, 
the value of which was about $80,000, or at the rate of nearly 
a million of dollars per annum.* 

One of the analyses of your ores gives but ten per cent, of 
copper. This might discourage some from aiding in your enter¬ 
prise. It must be recollected, however, that the specimen was 
one that had been exposed to the weather for a year or two, and 


2 


Geological Report of Tennessee. 




18 


had, doubtless, lost much of its copper, as is suggested by the 
chemist. To those who may not be familiar with the usual per 
cent, yielded by copper mines, the following statements will be 
of interest. They are quoted from the Reports of Sir W. E. 
Logan, the Geologist of Canada, who has had a personal know¬ 
ledge of the copper mines of Great Britain. He says : 

‘‘ The average of Cornwall, after the ores have been dressed 
by washing, does not in any one year reach eight per cent, from 
which it will be readily understood that the portion selected for 
dressing must have been much lower before the operation, and 
that the whole quantity of material cut in the mine must have 
been lower still. * * * The produce of some individual 

mines occasionally does not exceed four per cent., even after 
dressing. The ores of Ireland, which have to bear a rather 
higher charge for transport, are raised to a rather higher per 
centage than those of Cornwall, the average being over eight per 
cent.; while those of Wales, which are of less importance, and of 
which the quantity appears to be diminishing, vary from year 
to year in the per centage, according to accidental circum¬ 
stances.” 

A word, also, as to the value of copper lands at Ducktown. 
The Hiwassee Company, at its organization, purchased 500 acres 
of land, for which, including the rights of third parties to the 
adit, shafts, drills, etc., they paid |220,000 ; and, recently, ano¬ 
ther tract of 100 acres, with a mine fully developed, was sold 
for $460,000. 

The cost of opening mines on your lands may be inferred from 
the fact stated in one of the Reports referred to. The actual 
cost of raising 447 tons of ore, with the cost of shafts, driving 
drifts, and other work preparatory to taking out the ore, with 
all labor at the mines, amounted to only $2,011, independent of 
salaries. 

The similarity of the mineral leads throughout your lands to 
those of Tennessee, adjoining, making proper allowance for the 
greater elevation of the country, leaves no doubt upon the minds 
of those who have made the examination, that there can be but 
little difference in the mineral productiveness of the two districts. 
So fully impressed were some of the leading operators of Duck- 


19 


town with the truth of this view, that they, some time since, 
proceeded to purchase 10,000 acres of land about thirty miles to 
the North-east of the Nantahala and Little Tennessee mines. At 
both points the lodes are found to he richer in yellow copper ore, 
near the surface, than at Ducktown. The Little Tennessee mine 
seems to be identical in the character of its ores with the Duck- 
town mines. 

I succeeded in purchasing the mine of Plumbago, or Black 
Lead, as it is more generally called, which was mentioned in the 
former report. Prof. William Beal, of Murphy, North Caro¬ 
lina, who negotiated the purchase for us, informed me, under 
date of Aug. 12, 1856, that it is located six miles from Burns¬ 
ville, in Yancey county. In describing the mine, which he had 
visited, he says that the hlach lead is found quite abundant, in 
blocks, mixed with the soil in some places, and that the vein is 
supposed to have a thickness of four feet, but of this he is doubt¬ 
ful. Its outcroppings, he adds, are to be seen extending across 
a fifty acre tract of land, and that the quality of the mineral is 
quite uniform and very pure. 

Wishing to procure more particular information, I employed 
Prof. Beal to revisit the mine, which he did, and reported as 
follows : 

“ Murphy, N. C., Nov. 22d, 1856. 

Agreeably to the directions of Mr. David Christy, I have ex¬ 
amined fully the property of J. M. Garland and J. M. Broyles, 
on Cana river, in Yancy county, N. C.', in regard to its mineral 
resources, and find Graphite (Black Lead) of a very pure char¬ 
acter in large quantities. The ridge containing the mine extends 
north and south through the entire property. The rock on the 
west side is Gneiss, but on the east it does not crop out so as to 
be visible. The graphite is found all through the soil in pieces 
of all sizes up to the weight of five or six pounds, and becomes 
more abundant on descending, so that almost any amount can be 
obtained, although there is no vein as yet found. 

William Beal, 
Geologist and Mining PngP 

The importance of the Plumbago mine to the Company can 
be better understood, by a brief statement of some of the lead- 


I 


20 


ing facts relating to the purity and sources of supply of this im¬ 
portant mineral. I have before me the Geological Survey of 
Canada, by SiR W. E. Logan, printed in 1857. The report 
says: 

“ The pure Plumbago furnished by the mines of Borrowdale 
in Cumberland, England, is exceedingly fine grained, and so 
compact that it may be sawn into thin plates, which are used for 
the fabrication of pencils. This plumbago, as is well known, 
commands an enormous price, and the locality is now nearly ex¬ 
hausted. Many other countries, as Bohemia, Spain, Ceylon, 
Greenland, and Canada, furnish abundance of the mineral, but 
it is almost always impure from the presence of earthy matters, 
and generally so crystalline in its texture that it can not be 
wrought by the same processes as the Cumberland lead.”* 

The lamellar structure of the Ceylon plumbago renders it unfit 
for pencils. All attempts to reduce it or other varieties to pow¬ 
der and then to consolidate them, by the aid of some adhesive 
matter, had failed to give satisfactory results. But Mr. Brock- 
don at length conceived the idea of solidifying the powder by 
pressure, and, by the aid of the air pump, has recently been emi¬ 
nently successful. To give its full value to the discovery of Mr. 
Brockdon, there was still wanting a means of purifying the 
ordinary plumbago, by removing the earthy matters with which 
it is generally contaminated. Mr. Brodie has succeeded in doing 
this, by a somewhat complicated chemical process, and the pow¬ 
dered plumbago, thus rendered equal to that of Borrowdale, is 
consolidated by Brockdon’s process, and fitted for use.f 

The Plumbago from your mine has been tested for only one 
of the many purposes to which it is applicable, viz.: for electro- 
typing. This test has been made at the Cincinnati Type Foun- 
dry, by L. Talcott Wells, Esq. This gentleman, after a 
month’s trial, pronounces it the best he has been able to procure, 
and in its powers for electrotyping purposes, as standing as 2 to 
3, as compared with what he has been using. H. C. Grosvenor, 
Esq., who has satisfactorily tested it, in connection with his busi¬ 
ness as wood engraver, also concurs with Mr. Wells in opinion. 
Mr. Wells says: 

* Report of S. Hunt, Esq., Chemist and Mineralogist, to the Geological Surrey, p. 423. t Ib. 



21 


“ Cincinnati Type Foundry, 1 
31ay 1, 1858. | 

“ David Christy, Esq. — Sir^ —The plumbago which you gave 
me, to test its quality for galvanic purposes, I find to be remark¬ 
ably pure. Heretofore I have depended upon a foreign article, 
which I understood to be the best English Cumberland plumba¬ 
go, for which I have paid two dollars per pound, and I consider 
it quite a favor to get it at that price. In comparing it, for elec¬ 
trotype purposes, I have found your specimen of plumbago to 
compare with the Cumberland in time as 2 to 3 nearly, that is, 
its value as a conductor of the electrical deposit of copper^ is 
one-third higher. 

The plumbago from Cumberland is prepared expressly for 
electrotypers, and great care is taken to reduce it to a perfectly 
impalpable state. The specimen received from you I scraped 
and filed off, but notwithstanding this rude preparation, its con¬ 
ducting power was as above stated—this demonstrates its great 
purity. In the specimen I have there is not the least evidence 
of any foreign substance. L. T. Wells, Agent.” 

The specimen which Prof. Beal supplied to me, from the 
mine, weighed but a pound or two. It saws very readily into 
thin plates, and exhibits no signs of lamination calculated to 
endanger its separating when used for pencils. The specimen 
was obtained from near the surface. 

So closely does this plumbago resemble the very best varieties 
known, that a chemist of New York City, who deals in the arti¬ 
cle, pronounced it to be from Borrowdale, and not of American 
origin. Its true value, for the various purposes to which this 
mineral is applied, can only be determined by actual test. The 
presumption is, however, that it is sufficiently pure for immedi- 
ato use, without a resort to the expensive process of purifying 
it by chemical means, and restoring its solidity by pressure. 

The amount of lands secured to the Association, during my 
several visits to North Carolina, now closely approximates 100,- 
000 acres. It is contemplated to increase the purchases to that 
extent, and the arrangements, now nearly perfected, will secure 
this object. The greater part of the purchases have been made 
upon the mineral belt described by Capt. Oram, and some of 


22 


them, including large bodies of land, are directly upon the Nan- 
tahala lead. A particular description of the several tracts pur¬ 
chased was given in the former report, but it is considered alto¬ 
gether unnecessary to repeat it at present. 

3. The third topic to be noticed is the facilities for the trans¬ 
portation of metals and ores to distant markets, when your mines 
are fully opened. 

It is merely necessary to say that the Rabun Gap Railroad, 
extending from Charleston, South Carolina, to Knoxville, Ten¬ 
nessee, is progressing encouragingly. This Railroad, as before 
stated, passes near your mines, and will afford an easy and ex¬ 
peditious outlet to the sea-board. In the mean time you will be 
able to erect your furnaces, open up the mines, and be ready to 
ship their products to market as soon as the trains begin to run 
upon the Railroad. 

4. In reference to the last topic to be noticed—the value of 
your lands as adapted to pasturage, the growing of wool, general 
agricultural purposes, and fruit and grape culture—it will be 
unnecessary, here, to do more than repeat what was said before 
upon the subject of wool growing. The general character of 
the country, its climate, soils, adaptation to pasturage, fruit 
raising, and grape culture, can be inferred from the articles in 
the appendix. Some of these articles were originally prepared 
in conformity with resolutions passed by the Railroad Meeting 
at Ashville, N. C., and by the Southern Commercial Convention 
at Knoxville, Tennessee. The former body notified me officially 
of the honor conferred, but the latter left its committees to learn 
their appointments through their published proceedings, a copy 
of which never reached me. For this reason the articles have 
been shaped to suit all the parties interested, and so as to be 
made a part of this Report. 

On the subject of wool growing the former report said: 

From experiments made, it has been determined that the 
mountain lands of Cherokee, Macon and Jackson counties. 
North Carolina, within which your lands are located, are well 
adapted to the growth of the tame grasses and clover,' and are 
admirably suited to pasturage, either for sheep, mules or cattle, 
but especially for the first. 

Rut to say that the soil and climate of Western North Caro- 


23 


lina are better adapted to the raising of sheep than of other ani¬ 
mals, is to state only half the truth. North Carolina can be made 
to compete successfully, in wool growing, with the world at large. 
The altitude of the country, the purity of its atmosphere, the 
mildness of its climate, the abundance of its never-failing springs 
of pure water, its freedom from all malarious influences, its un¬ 
varying healthfulness, all combine to make it the most attractive 
point of immigration in the Union; and when once it is generally 
knowm that it presents the most inviting field for the production 
of wool, one of the great staples of the country, the wool-grow¬ 
ers will not fail to accept the advantages it offers. 

It is no exaggeration to say, that Western North Carolina 
can be made to compete with the world, in the production of the 
finest qualities of Wool. There can be no appreciable difference, 
as to climate and other conditions, between it and Tennessee, 
which has already contended for the Golden Fleece, and won the 
prize. 

MaPvK R. Cockeeell, Esq., an extensive Wool-grower of 
Tennessee, attended the World’s Fair in London, in 1851, and 
presented some of his wool in competition with the wools of 
Europe. The contest, under the rules, was between countries, 
not individuals. The premium of the ‘‘ Golden Fleece was 
awarded to Tennessee, and Mr. Cockerell bore the pleasing 
intelligence home to his fellow-citizens. The Legislature of that 
State, the winter following, passed a resolution tendering Mr. 
C. its thanks, and ordering the preparation of a gold medal to 
be given him as a token of their respect. 

On its presentation, among other things, he said ; 

“ Germany, Spain, Saxony, and Silicia were there ; the com¬ 
petition was honorable, strong, and fair. Nature gave me the 
advantage in climate, but the noble Lords and worthy Princes 
of Europe did not know it, until we met in the Crystal Palace 
of London, before a million of spectators. While their flocks 
were housed six months in the year, to shelter them from the 
snow of a high latitude, and were fed from the granaries and 
stock yards, mine were roaming over the green pastures of Ten¬ 
nessee, warmed by the genial influence of a southern sun,—the 
fleece thus softened and rendered oily by the warmth and green 
food, producing a fine even fibre.’' t 


24 


On the subject of timber, the former report said: ^ 

The size of the trees is about equal to that of those on similar 
Geological formations in Kentucky and Ohio—in some places 
low, in others lofty. In the coves of the mountains, however, 
there are trees of equal size with those produced by the best 
lands at the North. Take the following measurements, in Tus- 
keegee Cove, near the Little Tennessee River, in Cherokee co.. 
North Carolina, as examples—the line being stretched around 
them about four feet above the ground: 


Black Locust, in circumference, feet, 

Buckeye,.“. 

Shell-bark hickory,....”.”.... 

Sugar maple.“. 

White maple,.“. 

Chestnut,.”.”.... 

Yellow poplar,.”.”.... 

Black oak,.”.“.... 

Beech,.”.”.... 


. 6 ^ 
.12 
. 9 
. 8 
. 7i 
. 19 | 
.181 
.10 
11 


In other localities the wild cherry, black walnut, and the sev¬ 
eral varieties of hickory and oak, attain a size about equal to 
these. In many of the coves, as well as in the less exposed situ¬ 
ations on the mountain sides, where the trees are shielded from 
the winds, they often grow up as straight as arrows, and may 
yet supply a large amount of sMp timber to the Southern sea¬ 
board, when the completion of the Railroads to the North-west 
shall have stimulated commercial enterprise in our Southern 
cities. 

The duration of the winters in North Carolina, usually, have 
a range of about three months. Plowing, by the best of farm¬ 
ers, is mostly done, for the spring crops, in the month of Feb¬ 
ruary. March, generally, is too stormy, and the weather too 
brittle” for out-doors labor. 

Respectfully yours. 


DAVID CHRISTY. 











THE 


SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, 


AS ADAPTED TO PASTURAGE AND 


GRAPE CULTURE. 



BY DAVID CHEISTY. 


CINCINNATI 

1858 . 




NOTE. 


- ♦ 

The articles herewith given to the public, were prepared under 
the following circumstances :—As geologist of the Nantahala and 
Tuckasege Land and Mineral Company, of North Carolina, I had 
to prepare a report on the mineral prospects of the property of 
the company, and the value of their lands for pasturage and grape 
culture. The latter division of the subject demanded more extended 
details than would be appropriate for the report of the company— 
hence the articles are used only as an appendix to it. 

Another motive for adopting this plan, has been to furnish 
information to other parties who had desired me to communicate 
the information, in my possession, upon these subjects. The con¬ 
vention of the Greenville and French Broad Railroad Company, 
which met at Ashville, North Carolina, in August, 1857, appointed 
me on a committee to report, among other things, upon the agri¬ 
cultural, manufacturing, and mineralogical resources of North 
Carolina. As I could only report upon the points upon which 
information had already been collected, the following articles are 
intended as a response to that appointment—the additional topics 
contemplated being left ;for the other members of the committee. 
I could only confer with two or three of its members, as the post- 
oflSce address of the others were unknown to me. 

Another motive for the adoption of this plan exists in the fact, 
that the Southern Commercial Convention, at Knoxville, Tennessee, 
in 1857, also appointed me on a committee to report on the culti¬ 
vation of the Grape in North Carolina; but as the oflGicial notice 
of my appointment never reached me, I could not, with propriety, 
forward a formal report to the Convention of the present year— 
hence this informal mode has been adopted to meet that case. 

The bearings of all the articles will be seen at once by the 
reader, except that on “Fog and Bain in the Mountains.” The facts 
which it embraces are important, as showing why it is that the 
mountain streams of North Carolina are so well sustained during 
summer, and why its highlands will thus be more valuable for pas¬ 
turage than those sections of country where the springs cease to 
flow in the months of summer and autumn. 

DAVID CHRISTY. 

Cincinnati, May, 1858. 



CULTURE OP THE VINE IN THE S. W. ALLEGHANIES. 

BY DAVID CHRISTY. 

General Remarks on Wine and its Production—Points to he Investigated 
—Grape Rot in Europe—Theories on the Subject—American Vines 
in Europe — Remarks—Cost of Foreign Wines to the United States — 
American Whisky Substituted for the Juice of the Grape—Revival of 
the European Vines—America Disproving the Theory Referred to — 
Opinions on the Subject—The Discussion to he Continued,. 

The culture of the Grape and the manufacture of Wine, in all ages, 
have been objects of much economical value among enlightened na¬ 
tions. With the advance of civilization they have lost nothing of 
their interest, but, on the contrary, are rapidly growing in importance. 
This is evident from the fact that the production of wine now falls far 
below the demand; so far, indeed, that adulterated and spurious wines 
are sold, to an enormous extent, in all markets where the population 
care not to discriminate between the counterfeit and the genuine. But 
there is a superadded necessity, beyond that of the mere increasing 
demand for wine, that, in the opinion of many, calls for its extended 
production. Legislation has proved itself impotent in the suppression 
of the curse of intemperance. The people at large are unwilling to 
tolerate any legal interference with their freedom in the use of bever¬ 
ages. The manufacture of the common drinks of the country, it is 
charged, have less regard for the public health than for their own pri¬ 
vate gains. The deleterious compounds, passed off for wines and 
brandies, or other popular liquors, it is believed, tend to fire the brain 
and produce morbid conditions of appetite which greatly aggravate 
the mania for intoxicating drinks. Nor is it strange that the avarice 
of men should tempt them to the adulteration of the common bever¬ 
ages of the people. It is in proof that the ordinary drugs of the 
apothecary, indispensable to the preservation of life, are now largely 
adulterated by miscreants whose cupidity would lead them to highway 
robbery, were their lives as free from danger in that pursuit as in the 
secret chambers of their laboratories. 

It can not be denied that intemperance is on the increase. The 
manufacture of ardent spirits, for the last few years, has vastly in¬ 
creased; and there seems to be no probability, under present circum¬ 
stances, that its use can be diminished. The belief is gaining ground 

(3) 




4 


Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 


that an ample supply of the pure juice of the Grrape would displace 
the noxious beverages now on sale, and greatly promote the cause of 
temperance. It is also believed that it is no longer safe to administer 
the common wines and brandies in those classes of diseases where al¬ 
coholic remedies are indispensable. Hence there is a double motive 
prompting to effort for the production of pure wine—temperance and 
health being both involved in the issue. The present practice of many 
physicians is to prescribe whisky, as the safest of all drinks, to those 
who can not purchase pure brandies or wines at their present costly 
rates; but this is to encourage the consumption of that article among 
the class of persons most likely to fall into the excessive use of cheap 
liquors, and to sanction the employment of a remedy far inferior to 
pure wine. 

Whether, then, the subject is considered in its bearings upon tem¬ 
perance or health, there is an urgent necessity, in the opinion of many, 
for an extended cultivation of the Grape. Under these circumstances, 
it is apparent that any country, adapted to the growth of the vine, must 
find it very remunerative to engage vigorously in its production. 

It -may be well here to remark, that the writer disapproves of the 
use of wines, or other intoxicating drinks, except for medical purposes, 
and that he can not judge of the quality of American wines as com¬ 
pared with those of Europe. This point, therefore, must be left to 
others, and his investigations limited to such questions as are connected 
with temperature, humidity, soils, the geology of the districts coming 
under consideration, and the information needed as to the conditions 
under which the best wines of Europe are produced. 

To gain a correct view of the causes which have recently called pub¬ 
lic attention to the necessity for extended grape-culture in the United 
States, it is necessary to refer to its condition in other countries, as 
well as to the results of the diminution of the production of wine in 
Europe. 

For several years past the discouragements to European vine-dress¬ 
ers have been very serious. Mildew and grape-rot extensively affected 
their grapes, and even the vines themselves suffered from decay. These 
results led some to adopt the opinion that the vitality of their vines 
was involved, and that their extinction was not at all improbable. 
This view was based upon the theory of certain naturalists, who hold 
that each separate individual, of any vegetable species, possesses a vi¬ 
tality, when produced from the seed^ which gives it a duration of ex¬ 
istence equal to the first created individual of the species; but that the 
huds or branches^ used either as grafts or for independent growth, can 



5 


Culture of the Vine in the S. W, Alleghanies. 

have no longer duration of life than if they had remained upon the 
parent plant. That is to say, the propagation from cuttings differs from 
the propagation from seed in this respect; each plant produced from 
cuttings must cease to live when the original plant, from which the 
first cutting was taken, has fulfilled its allotted period of existence J 
hut each plant derived from seed has an independent vitality, giving it 
an existence co-extensive with the age allotted to the first one of the 
species to which it belongs. The term, plants is here used in its bo¬ 
tanical sense, as representing the whole vegetable kingdom. 

The vine has been propagated from cuttings for many thousands of 
years in Europe. The advocates of the foregoing theory, therefore, on 
witnessing the general decline of the fruitfulness of the vine upon that 
continent, for the past few years, concluded that its vitality had be¬ 
come exhausted, and that its destruction was at hand. To remedy the 
threatened evil,, measures were adopted to secure cuttings from the 
youthful vines of the United States, or elsewhere, to enable the vint¬ 
ners to commence a new career of another two or three thousand 
years. Such has been the importance attached to this subject, and 
such the bearings of the production of wine upon the public prosper¬ 
ity, that even the crowned heads have interposed to aid in testing the 
adaptation of the native grapes of North Carolina to the climate and 
soils of their domains. The Catawba and Isabella are now growing in 
Royal Vineyards; and should the experiment prove successful, these 
vines will, if necessary, be made to replace the effete European varieties. 

Were the diminished supply of pure wine the only result of the late 
failure of the vintages of Europe, the loss would not be a subject of 
much regret, except as it affected the poor whose labor was devoted to 
its production. Men in health have little need of stimulants beyond 
what their tea and coffee and ordinary food afford. But the use of 
wine having become general, for ages, both as a beverage and for med¬ 
ical purposes, the demand has not lessened with the diminished pro¬ 
duction. To supply this demand spurious wines have been thrown up¬ 
on the market, and accepted by the greater part of consumers as gen¬ 
uine. The extent of this adulteration can not be determined, but, ac¬ 
cording to the best authorities, it has been enormous. The amount 
imported into the United States, for 1855 and 1856, was valued at 
$6,272,770, being at the rate of more than three millions of dollars 
worth per annum. Of these imports it is believed that very little con¬ 
sisted of pure wines; and the amount of spurious wines manufactured 
in the United States must have been still greater than that imported. 
French Brandies, also, have diminished with the lessened quantity of 





6 


Culture of the Yine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 

wine from which they are produced, and American corn whisky has 
been largely exported to enable the French distillers to supply the lack 
of the pure articles by those of a counterfeit character * 

But the events of the year 1857, together with the history of Amer¬ 
ican grape-culture, cast much doubt upon the theory of diminishing 
vitality in the vine, as a cause of failure in the European vintages. 
The grape-crop in Europe, for 1857, has been an abundant one in 
many districts. This fact seems to indicate, with certainty, that the 
vines have recovered their former healthful condition. The American 
Catawba grape, has been affected, occasionally, by mildew and rot dur¬ 
ing nearly the whole period of its cultivation; and, in the last year, 
especially, the crop was very materially injured throughout Ohio, Ken¬ 
tucky and the west generally. The fact that the Catawba has been so 
seriously affected by the grape disease, though not yet twenty years 
from the native forests of North Carolina, casts an additional doubt 
upon the theory of lost vitality, from long production by cuttings, as 
- the cause of failure in the vintages of Europe, and demands that in¬ 
vestigations shall be conducted in another direction. 

The conclusion to which the best vintners are led, after a careful re¬ 
view of the whole question, is, that the grape disease, common to both 
Europe and America, will be of only occasional recurrence, like the 
smut and rust in wheat, the potato-rot^ or epidemics among men; and 
that while its prevalence in some districts may be too frequent to al¬ 
low of the continued profitable culture of the vine, in others it may be 
no more fatal than frosts are to the peach and the apple. But could 
there be a section of country discovered, having a chemical composition 
of soil, or an altitude above the valleys, which would yield wines of fine 
flavor and be exempt from the grape disease, its productiveness of wealth 
would far surpass every other district devoted to ordinary agriculture. 
Such a region would be a desideratum to the nation, and it is believed 
that it hag been discovered. The facts from which such an opinion is 
formed, will be given in the next chapter. 


See Annual Statement of Trade and Commerce of Cincinnati, for 1857. 





CULTURE OF THE VINE IN THE S. W. ALLEGHANIES. 


BY DAVID CHRISTY. 

Remarlcs—Prohahle Exemption of the Grape from Mildew and Rot in 
the S. W. Alleghanies—Adaptation of their Soils to the Production 
of the Best Flavored Wines—The Extent of Territory adapted to 
Grape-Culture which they will Afford — Mr, Guerin's Letter. 
Nations, states, or sections of country, can not become eminently com¬ 
mercial, except where their agricultural, manufacturing, or mineral re¬ 
sources afford an ample basis of operations for capital and labor. The 
South has already demonstrated the agricultural capacity of her low¬ 
lands, and has thereby made the manufactures and commerce of Chris¬ 
tendom her tributaries. It only remains that she shall develop the re¬ 
sources of her highlands, to enable her to add immensely to her power 
over the trade and commerce of the world. This latter region, consti¬ 
tuting an extensive range of mountain lands, has thus far been pro¬ 
ductive of little wealth, with the exception of the gold it has yielded. 
Enough is known of it, however, to give fair promise in the future of 
rich rewards to capital and labor. Its mineral wealth, doubtless, is 
inexhaustible; but as the ores are limited to a few ranges of metallic 
veins, much of the territory can be valuable only for grapes and fruits, 
or for pasturage and timber. 

The general question of the present condition of the production of 
wine, has been discussed in the preceding chapter; and the adapta¬ 
tion of the Southwestern Alleghanies to the cultivation of the G-rape, 
has been referred to in the article on the “Climatology of North Caro¬ 
lina.” From the first of these investigations it appears, that the com¬ 
mercial demand for wine is such as to give promise that its production 
will become a lucrative business; and from the second, that the high¬ 
lands of the South approach more nearly, in humidity and temperature, 
to the vine districts of Europe, than any other portions of the Union 
eastward of California. The following points remain to be examined: 
the probable exemption of the grape, in these mountains, from the 
mildew and rot which elsewhere renders the crop so precarious; the 
adaptation of their soils to the production of the best flavored wines; 
the extent of territory adapted to grape-culture which they will afford. 

To arrive at a just conclusion, as to the conditions of soil and cli¬ 
mate indispensible to the healthful growth of the grape, it is necessary 
to consider the causes of its destruction. Mildew and rot seem to be 




8 Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 

its most potent enemies. To the naked eye the mildew appears like 
an impalpable powder, covering the grape partially, or wholly, and at 
times extends to the growing short leaves and stems. Under the mi¬ 
croscope it proves to be a Fungus^ coating the surface as with a forest 
of white pines. The development of these miniature trees, from the 
seed to the perfect tree yielding its seed again, occupies but about 
twelve hours. The branches of the fungus, when full grown, are nu¬ 
merously subdivided and beset with myriads of microscopic spores, or 
germs, which are readily detached by the wind and fill the air with in¬ 
visible but reproductive elements.* 

The first occurrence of the mildew is at the time when the vine has 
just shed its blossoms and the grapes have been formed; its continu¬ 
ance is only as long as the cuticle of the grape remains tender and 
capable of being penetrated by the rootlets of the fungus; and its 
effect is the destruction of all the berries over which it spreads to any 
considerable extent. The grapes, in all such cases, cease to grow, 
turn black, and fall off.f 

The circumstances under which mildew appears are worthy of spec¬ 
ial note. They include temperature, humidity, altitude. Around Cin¬ 
cinnati the elevation of the hills is from three hundred to four hun¬ 
dred feet. The mildew was more destructive to the Grape, in 1857, 
than at almost any former period. The lowest portion of the vine¬ 
yards was more affected than the highest, and the intermediate part 
much more than the lowest. “In certain localities, exposed to a dry 
and free circulation of air, the grape often escapes in seasons of the 
most unfavorable character.” The first appearance of mildew, last 
year, was during warm rainy weather. It ceased to spread when the 
air became clear and breezy, but reappeared again and increased with 
the recurrence of warm rains.]; 

From this statement of facts it would appear, that in the develop¬ 
ment of mildew there must be a high temperature, a great amount of 
humidity, and no very considerable elevation above the valleys. The 
hight of the hills at Cincinnati is so inconsiderable as to afford no 
proper opportunity of testing the question, whether an elevation may 
not exist that will exempt the grape entirely from mildew. That such 
an altitude does exist, is rendered probable from the fact, that, at Cin¬ 
cinnati, the vines on the highest grounds suffer the least, and certain 
airy localities, even in the worst seasons, escape it altogether. The 
same laws seem to have controlled the customs elsewhere. At El Pas- 


* Reports of Dr. L. Mosher, in Cmcinnatus. t f>r. L. Mosher’s Reports, f Ibid. 





9 


Culture of the Vine in the S, W, Alleghanies, 

so, and at Parras, in Mexico, superior vine districts exist: but both 
these places are at four thousand to five thousand feet above the sea, 
and at lower positions in Mexico the grape is not grown * The first 
efforts at grape-culture, near Yinona, in the Southern Highlands, were 
unsuccessful. The foreign vines were planted, and the valleys and 
hill-sides chosen as the sites of the vineyards. Put complete success 
did not crown the efforts of the little colony, till, under the direction 
of Mr. N. E. GuERiN,f they planted the native grapes, and selected 
elevations from six hundred to eleven hundred feet above the Ocooe 
river, or one thousand eight hundred to two thousand three hundred 
above the Atlantic. At Louisa, Kentucky, on Big Sandy river, 
Judge Bice has a small vineyard in bearing. It is planted upon 
sandy lands but little elevated above the river. The rot injured his 
crop year before last, and in the winter following the vines were killed 
to the ground by frost. Another vineyard was planted in the high¬ 
lands, eight miles distant from Louisa, which always produced well 
and never suffered from mildew or rot; but it is now neglected and 
going to ruin, in consequence of the failure in business of the gentle¬ 
man who planted it. 

What is true of mildew, is true also of what is called the hlach rot. 
These two diseases are distinct, but their effects the same—the destruc¬ 
tion of the grape. The rot appears at a later period than mildew, and 
after the cuticle of the berry has become thickened and condensed. 
It has always succeeded the mildew, but has also made its appearance 
without that sure precursor, and often destroyed almost the entire 
crop, especially in unfavorable localities. The rot is also caused by a 
fungus, the fibers of which are found penetrating the interior of the 
grape; and, in its own progress to maturity, exhausting the vital en¬ 
ergies of the fruit of the vine. Its presence is indicated by a small 
bluish tint on the surface of the grape; but whether the spores of the 
fungus enter the circulation from the water around the roots of the 
vine, as the ova of certain worms must pass through the circulation of 
the mother to reach the intestines of the offspring; or whether they 
penetrate the interior from the atmosphere, through the surface, are 
yet mysteries in vegetable physiology. It seems, however, that the 
germs of the fungus which produce black rot, like those of the mil¬ 
dew, require certain atmospheric conditions for their development, 


* Blodgett’s Climatology, p. 444. 

tSee Mr. Guerin’s letter in a subsequent chapter. Vinona is upon the Frog 
Mountains, a portion of the Smoky Mountain Range, and near Ocooe river. 





10 


Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 

which only prevail in certain localities and under peculiar circum¬ 
stances, that may not exist every-where. 

Another question must here be considered. A difference of opin¬ 
ion prevails as to the condition of the grape, at the moment preced¬ 
ing the germination of the mildew and rot. Some believe that Fun¬ 
gi never grow upon healthy vegetable tissues, and that the grape must 
first become diseased before the fungus can grow upon it. Others con¬ 
sider that this view is certainly a mistake, because the grapes attacked 
by mildew and rot are always those of the most healthy and vigorous 
growth, and only begin to decay when the fungus appears upon them. 
It is replied, that this vigor of growth is not a healthy one, but the 
result of morbid action, produced, probably, by an excess of fertilizing* 
elements in the soils. This result is believed to be due to an errone¬ 
ous practice, long prevalent, of plying the vineyard soils to excess 
with rich manures, so that a vigorous growth of the vines might be 
promoted, and early and abundant vintages secured. In limestone 
countries, like that around Cincinnati, an excess of lime is always 
present in the soils, to transform, promptly, the fertilizing elements of 
the manures into food for the vines, and their morbid growth and pre¬ 
mature decay is supposed to be the result. As increased temperature, 
in such cases, always promotes chemical action, and the presence of 
moisture leaves nothing lacking to hasten the effect, the concurrence 
of warm weather and rains must necessarily crowd upon the rootlets of 
the vines an excess of aliment, which, according to this theory, will be 
productive of disastrous consequences. This extra forcing of the 
growth of the grape during periods of high temperature and excessive 
humidity, is believed to result in the rupturing of the vessicles con¬ 
taining its juices. The fluids thus set free within the berry, can not 
but be subject to fermentation. When the cuticle of the grape is ten¬ 
der, the germs of the mildew find the elements of growth in the decay¬ 
ing materials in contact with the inner surface; and when it is hard¬ 
ened by age, those of the black rot, entering the interior as they may, 
are equally certain of a rich supply of food to complete their develop¬ 
ment. 

The controversy upon this subject can not be settled, except by ad¬ 
ditional investigation. The application of sulphur has been found 
beneficial, but whether it destroys the fungus and saves the grape, or 
whether it gives health to the grape and thus prevents the germination 
of the fungus, are questions to be settled in the future. Nor need 
the mountain-men grieve over this state of things, as it matters little 
to them which way it shall be determined. This is no idle remark. 



Culture of the Vine in the S. W, Alleghanies. 


11 


The mildew appears upon the grapes only during periods of much hu¬ 
midity of atmosphere and increase of temperature; and it is produced 
under no other circumstances. From this it may be inferred, that the 
natural habitat of this fungus must he in situations where an excess 
of heat and moisture prevails. Such localities, of course, exist only 
in the vicinity of ponds and low marshy grounds. Its seed, micros¬ 
copically minute, rises in the rarified atmosphere till the cooler air pre¬ 
vents its farther ascent, or else it is wafted by the winds to the hill- 
slopes, or borne upward by the ascending vapor, as driftwood is borne 
along by running streams. Coming into contact, there, with the 
moistened surface of the tender grape, at the moment when the tem¬ 
perature is high enough to favor its germination, the fungus springs 
into life and maturity at the expense of the death of the grape. 

Now should the mildew be found to have such an origin as is here 
suggested, and we see not that it can he otherwise, then, sections of 
country destitute of marshes and ponds, or out of the range of winds 
passing over such localities, must escape the infection. The mountain 
ranges of the South, therefore, rising high above the valleys, and be¬ 
ing far distant from marshes and ponds, can scarcely ever he reached 
by the floating germs of the fungus; and even if its seed should be 
carried to a high altitude, occasionally, the cool airy character of the 
atmosphere which it would penetrate, must afford hut a doubtful chance 
for it to germinate.* This view of the subject is sustained by the 
practical results obtained by Mr. Guerin. 

But should it be found that the mildew is not the cause of the de¬ 
struction of the grape, but only an indication that its vitality has been 
already impaired by internal causes, then will there be a still greater 
certainty of the success of the vine in the Southern Highlands; because 
their soils are of such a nature as to ensure against morbid growth, 
from excess of fertility due to the presence of too great a proportion 
of manures and lime. 

Another cause of injury to the vine is believed to exist in excessive 
collections of water around its roots. This evil prevails in limestone 
soils, and in those also where clays predominate, and the underlying 
strata are horizontal. Some vintners speak of it as ^‘drowning” and 
“scalding” the roots. Nor can the evil be permanently overcome, 
even by deep trenching, as the filtering of the surface water ultimately 
carries down the finer particles of clay or lime, and forms a flooring, 
impervious to water, which retains it around the rootlets of the vine. 


^ See the article on “Fog and Rain” for altitudes. 




12 


Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 


But from the geological structure of the Southern Highlands—the 
highly indurated or crystalline character of its rocks, and the chemi¬ 
cal nature of the soils which they yield—neither excess of fertility or 
moisture can ever prevail to any injurious extent. The strata are up¬ 
turned upon their edges, at various angles, and remain undecomposed 
to any great depth, thus affording opportunities for the water to filter 
downward far beyond the point to which the roots of the vine can 
ever penetrate. The soils are derived from gneissoid, schistoze, and 
slaty rocks, of the Metamorphic period, with less than a half dozen of 
narrow bands of limestone in a distance of over two hundred miles. 
The soils are, therefore, composed mainly of silicates of alumina with 
a moderate per centage of lime, or of soda, or magnesia, the proportions 
being about the same as in the primary rocks. No excessive fertility, 
therefore, can exist in these soils, except by over-manuring, and no 
morbid growth of the grape can occur, if the soils are left in their na¬ 
tive condition. 

It may be feared from what has been said, that the soils of these 
mountains are too deficient in fertility to allow of the permanent 
growth of the grape. But no alarm need exist upon this point. The 
soils, generally, are intermingled with small fragments and particles of 
rock, giving them a loose, porous texture. The vegetable matter, an¬ 
nually contributed to the surface by the plants, grasses and trees, has 
been carried downward, during decomposition, into the subsoils. 
This, in places, leaves the surface-soil with less fertility than exists in 
the subsoil; as is indicated, even in the poorest spots, by the vigor¬ 
ous growth of that class of young trees which send their roots deeply 
into the earth. 

Mr. Guerin, at Yinona, has portions of his vineyard planted upon 
the poorest of the clay-slate lands, and yet the vines have as healthy 
and vigorous a growth as is exhibited by the young oaks and hickor¬ 
ies which stand upon the outside of his enclosures. Remarks upon 
the productiveness of the mountain soils in general are left for another 
place. 

In closing the investigations upon this division of our subject, it is 
not claiming too much, it is thought, to say, that the Southern High¬ 
lands combine all the elements of successful grape-culture. By con¬ 
sulting the article upon “ Fog and Rain in the Mountains,” it will be 
seen that their altitude must be very favorable, and that such will be 
the freedom of circulation afforded to the air among the vines planted 
on their declivities; and such their exposure in rising terraces to the 
warming influence of the sun; that mildew and rot will be incapable 



13 


Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 

of gaining a foothold among the vineyards, while the grape itself must 
reach a maturity and perfection of development that will produce the 
best of wines. 

The results at Vinona, together with the other facts stated, are very 
satisfactory upon this point, and may be considered as settling the 
question, that the grape-crop, in the Southern Highlands, will he ex¬ 
empt from mildew and rot. 

There are other questions besides these, demanding attention. The 
fine flavor, or boquet, of the best European wines has not yet been at¬ 
tained for those of the United States. Till this is effected, our native 
wines can not compete with the foreign. To overcome this difficulty, 
we must first ascertain its cause. As compared with each other, there 
is as great a diversity in the flavor of foreign wines, as there is between 
them and our native wines. Now, if causes exist in Europe which 
necessarily produce the best wines, from year to year, in one vineyard, 
while an inferior wine is invariably yielded by another, then why may 
not the same results be reached in the United States? 

Inquiries have been made into the probable causes of these peculiar 
results, in European wine-making, and facts such as these have been 
ascertained. American travelers, who have visited Europe, as well as 
foreigners who have been familiar with the facts, state, that there are 
some unexplained mysteries in that country, connected with the pro¬ 
duction of the choicest wines. The testimony is, that often two adja¬ 
cent vineyards, and even different portions of the same vineyard, pro¬ 
duce wines quite different in their flavor and commercial value. As 
these wines are all subjected to the same amount of rain and sunshine, 
some other cause than climate and season must beget such a result. 
What is that cause? Why should the same variety of gTapes produce 
a wine so widely different, when growing at one side of a field, from 
that which it would yield if grown at the other side? Why should 
two branches cut from the same vine, when planted but a few rods 
apart, produce wines flavored so differently that the product of the one 
will be sought after in all markets, while the other will sell in none, or 
at very reduced prices? 

It will be impracticable to answer these questions satisfactorily, in 
the present state of our knowledge upon this subject. A few sugges¬ 
tions, however, may lead to investigations in the right direction. As 
the difference in the qualities of the wines referred to, is not produced 
by climate and season, it must, very probably, be caused by the chem¬ 
ical difference in the quality of the soils. And as each class of rocks 
is composed of chemical elements peculiar to itself, it is of the first im- 


( 




14 


Culture of the Vine in the 8. W, Alleghanies. 

portance to ascertain what kind of rocks have supplied the soils to the 
vines which yield the choicest wines. Upon this point considerable 
inquiry has been made, and the answer has invariably been, that such 
vines are planted upon Slate Rock, But whether it is Talcose Slate, 
Chlorite Slate, Mica Slate, Argillaceous Slate, or Calcareous Slate, none 
of the gentlemen consulted have been able to determine. And yet it 
may be very important to know this fact: because, if it be either of 
the two first named, then the alkali in the soil will be magnesia; if the 
third, it will ]:>& potash; if the fourth, it will be soda ; and if the fifth, 
it will be Zme.* 

But we are not altogether destitute of testimony, tending to support 
us in the opinion that the quality of the soil, in which the vine is 
planted, exerts a direct influence upon the flavor of the wine which it 
yields. We find the following statement in the Voyages of Stavorinus, 
to the Cape of Good Hope, in 1774; that country being then under the 
rule of the Butch. In speaking of the quality of the wine produced 
at the Cape, he says; “I have observed that we never drank any wine 
of one and the same flavor, at two different places ; every soil that pro¬ 
duces wine, gives a distinct taste to it.”f In California, the principal 
field of grape-culture is in the valley around Los Angeles, where the 
soil is siliceous in its character. But the quality of the grapes and 
wine, at this place, are not equal to that on several of the distant ran¬ 
chos, and at the mission at San Gabriel on the higher grounds. The 
vineyards on moist land produce larger and more juicy grapes, but 
they are not equal in flavor to those grown on dry soils. At some of 
the vineyards it is not possible to make good red wine, the skin of the 
berry being deficient in coloring matter. This deficiency is attributed 
to the influence of niter in the soil, as it is often seen to effloresce on 
the surface where a pool of water has dried up.| 

It would appear, then, that the main question, demanding investiga¬ 
tion, is the extent to which the flavor of wines are affected by the soils 
in which the vine is planted. This can only be done in Europe, and 


*The analysis of these slates is given in the books, in per cents, of one hun¬ 
dred parts of each, thus; Argillaceous Slate —silica 56.11, alumina 17.31, soda 12.- 
48, lime 2.16, magnesia 0.20, peroxyd of iron 6.96, water 4.58. Chlorite Slate _sili¬ 
ca 31.54, alumina 5.44, magnesia 41.54, peroxyd of iron 10.18, water 9.32. Talc _ 

the Talcose Slate not given—silica 62.80, alumina 0.60, magnesia 31.92, protoxyd 
of iron 1.10, water 1.92. Mica —common—silica 46.10, alumina 31.60, potash 8.- 
39, protoxyd of iron 8.65, oxyd of magnesia 1.40, fluoric acid 1.12, water 1.00. 
t Page 58, Vol. 11, 

t Report of Railroad Exploring Expedition, 1857. 





Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 


15 


her Geologists will not care to labor for the benefit of a foreign coun¬ 
try, in which too they may find a dangerous rival. The task must be 
performed by an American Geologist. The importance of such a re- 
connoisance will be understood when it is stated, that the mountain 
regions of Southern Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and 
Georgia, have extensive ranges of all the varieties of Slate Rock above- 
mentioned. It is true that such an investigation of the European 
vineyards might be dispensed with, and experiments instituted that 
would test the question at home. But to ascertain which of the slate- 
rock formations it is that contains the magic elements, necessary to the 
production of the choicest wines, will require ten or twenty years of 
experimenting by American wine-growers. Will they risk the trouble 
and expense of the varied experiments demanded to ascertain the truth 
on this subject? It is believed that they will not, because capital is in 
too much demand, in the ordinary business transactions of the country, 
to allow of its being employed in experiments involving so much risk. 
And why should such delay be made, when a single year or two, by 
the aid of Government, might supply ample data to guide the vine- 
grower to a correct solution of the question ? 

There is certainly sufficient encouragement to warrant the adoption 
of the course suggested. The experiments already made in grape-cul¬ 
ture, in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, within 
the last few years, have been attended with eminent success, so far as 
abundant vintages are concerned. But no finely-flavored wines, capa¬ 
ble of competing with the best wines of Europe, have yet been pro¬ 
duced in these States; and yet, with a single exception, they have all 
the varieties of soils known as existing in the vine districts of Europe. 
That exception is the volcanic rocks, which possess advantages, perhaps, 
in the excess of sulphur they contain. And, even in this respect, the 
South-western Alleghanies may possess the equivalent of the volcanic 
rocks of Europe; as they have been subjected to violent Plutonic ac¬ 
tion, in the progress of which the rocky strata have been upturned 
upon their edges, and some of their ranges of considerable width 
abound in sulphuret of iron. Whether this sulphur has permeated 
the strata from volcanic sources, or was originally deposited during the 
formation of the strata in the ancient sea-bed, the effects upon the soils 
are the same. They must abound in sulphur. 

Another question arises here. Has the section of country under 
consideration, a sufficient extent of territory, adapted to the cultiva¬ 
tion of the grape, to justify a vigorous effort to bring it under vine- 
culture? Compare it, say, with France. It embraces a breadth of 



16 


Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 


more than one hundred miles north and south, and more than two 
hundred from north-east to south-west. This area equals 12,000,000 
of acres of land. “The number of acres under vine culture in France 
exceeds 5,000,000, giving employment to 2,000,000 of persons, mostly 
females, and in its transportation and sale, to 250,000 more.”* Al¬ 
lowing one-half of the territory of the South-western Alleghanies to 
be available for vine cultivation, and it will give us a larger field of 
enterprise than exists in France, where, in a single year,f there were 
produced 925,000,000 gallons of wine, or nearly one barrel for each 
inhabitant of the country. Now suppose that even one-fourth of 
these mountain lands should be found adapted to the production of the 
grape, it will be amply sufiicient to give employment to more than a 
million of population; and, at the present price of wine, to increase 
the productive wealth of the country to an almost incredible sum. 

Upon the subject of the adaptation of the South-western Allegha¬ 
nies to the production of fruits in general, it is only necessary to say, 
that, so far as attempted, it has been eminently successful. 

In closing this investigation, we should consider it incomplete with¬ 
out the addition of the Letter of Mr. N. E. Guerin, whose vineyard 
we visited in 1857, and who has generously furnished a detailed state¬ 
ment of his plan of operations. The illustrations were drawn by himself. 
And we must take this occasion also to say, that the attainments of 
Mr. Guerin are of a high order, both in literature and science; and 
that, from his observation and experience, he is eminently qualified 
to act as the pioneer in the development of vine cultivation in the 
Southern Highlands. To this end he is making such arrangements 
for storing his wines, in the coolness of his mountain home, as will 
enable him to purchase the vintages of all the colonists around him, 
and thus to afford them a market, at their own doors, for the prod¬ 
ucts of the labor of their hands. 

[Written in French—Translated by Jas. W. Ward, Esq.] 

ViNONA, September 7, 1857. 

Mr. David Christy— My Dear Sir: I received, two days since, your letter of 
the 15th of August, dated at Huntsville, Alabama. It has been the more agree¬ 
able to me, since I find by it that you have not forgotten us. It is with pleasure 
that I now reply, in regard to the information that you have requested, in rela¬ 
tion to the cultivation of the Vine here. It is now about ten years since I came 
to Tennessee, with Mr. E. Bayer, for the purpose of assisting him, as agent, in 
the management of nearly two hundred thousand acres of land, which he had 
bought, for speculation, in the counties of Polk and Monroe. The three first 
years were spent in verifying the titles, and locating the lands situated in the 


* New Orleans Price Cuirent, 1857. 


11849. 




Culture of the Vine in the 8. W. Alleghanies. 


17 


mountains. I was every-where struck with tho abundance of wild vines, that I 
found growing luxuriantly at different elevations; and it was this that first gave 
me the idea of attempting the vine-culture—in other words, of commencing a 
little vineyard. I was the more inclined to proceed with prudence, that I knew 
that several Swiss and Germans had already failed in similar undertakings. 
However, having pursued a course of Agriculture and Botany, with Mr. Tiioin, 
in France, and having spent a long time in the Vine country of South and Mid¬ 
dle France, I had hopes of remedying the obstacles that had discouraged my 
predecessors. I obtained from New-York, twenty-four plants of the Isabella, 
and two of the Catawba, together with several species of the Vines of Europe— 
the Chasselas, Tokay, etc. The last I very soon abandoned, discovering that they 
would not succeed: from the Isabella and Catawba I found that good results 
oould be obtained. 

And this is the manner of planting that has best succeeded with me and that 
we now follow. In the first place, we avoid the valleys and bottoms; all our 
plantations being placed on the declivities of the hills, starting at the hight of 
about six hundred feet above the Ocooe. Not having a bai’ometer with me, the 
hight above the ocean I can not tell. The experiments made on the banks of 
the river and in the valley, have always resulted badly. The inclination of our 
mountains, is generally forty-five degrees; we are therefore obliged, in order to 
avoid the washing away of our lands by the rains, to cultivate the whole in ter¬ 
races. The most economical manner of proceeding is the following; 

Draw horizontally a deep fur¬ 
row, with a good hill-side plow; f^j Q, f 
and above this another, at the dis¬ 
tance you wish to have between 
the vine-rows; and so on to the 
top. You then plant the cuttings 
in the furrows, three feet apart, 
and fill up the furrow with the sur¬ 
face-earth lying above it, pressing 
it lightly around the plants, taking 
care that the earth thoroughly fills 
up the furrow from top to bottom. 

[See cut No. 1.] , FIG.2. 

By means ot the plow, passed 
between the rows, the earth is then 
brought to the level of the bottom 
of the upper furrow, which leaves 
about two feet of loose earth, thro’ 
which the roots can extend. [See 
cut No. 2 & 3.] 

I never apply manure to the 
roots; whenever I use any, I always put it on the surface, 

and turn it in with the plow. 

During the first two years, 
let the vines grow as they 
will, without trimming; the 
third year I trim to two buds; 

[see cut No. 4,] the fourth year 
I add another branch—leav¬ 
ing two to each plant—and 
give to each branch three buds 
[see cut No. 6.] 

The vines now begin to bear; and at the sixth 
year the work is completed, and the vineyard is in 
full bearing. [See cut No. 6.] 

All my branches are kept as low as possible, the 
producing larger bunches. If you could see our 






/ 





18 




Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 



vineyards at this time, you would be aston¬ 
ished at the quantity of grapes we have, 
and at the beauty of the fruit. The rot, of 
which complaint is made in so many places, 
has done us but very little harm, and only 
this year; attributable, we think, to the 
prolonged rains. I am careful, each year, 
in the months of February and March, to 
uncover my vines to the depth of six or eight 
inches, and remove from each cutting all the 
fibers, or rootlets, which have grown along 
the stem, and above the lower roots at the 
base; I then break up and turn back the 
soil, plant the stakes, and immediately af¬ 
ter proceed with the pruning. The vintage 
should not take place till the grapes are 
perfectly mature; which they are, here, at 
the end of September or beginning of Oc¬ 
tober. I break otf about half of the stalks, or peduncles, and crush the grapes 
between two cylinders of wood, and throw the must into a large vat holding 
about one hundred and fifty gallons, which is filled to within a foot and a half 
of the top; the vat is then closed with a lid, and the whole left to ferment for a 
period of ten or tAvelve days. The clear wine is then drawn off and put into a 
cask or a fresh vat. In the month of December, the wine is transferred to anoth¬ 
er cask, and again fined and drawn off the following February. It is then ready 



\ 



























Culture of the Vine in the S. W. Alleghanies. 19 

for market. Our wines keep very well, and like those of France, improve in 
quality by age. I make but very little sparkling, on account of the breakage 
of the bottles; some that I have made from the Isabella grape, has much of the 
flavor of the French Champaigne, differing from it only in color. I shall have, 
the coming season, from twenty to twenty-five acres in vines; the other settlers 
are also extending their plantations, now that we see that it will become a good 
business. ‘ 

The vine here produces a third more than it does in France; and the wines 
may be made of as good quality; they difter only in hoquet^ and that depends 
upon the species of grape wo now grow. I hope, however, within two years, 
perhaps, to obtain the flavor of the French wines, by means of a new species of 
grape that I have now in my nursery, and which gives absolutely the flavor of 
the grapes of our country, 

A vineyard of an acre, six years old, well cultivated, will yield from four 
hundred and fifty to five hundred gallons of good wine. As you know, we are 
upon mountains of primitive and transition rocks, through which the water finds 
an easy filtration; and it is to this fact that we attribute, in a great degree, the 
healthiness of our vines; the roots of which are never drowned in water; as 
they would be, if we had a base of limestone and impermeable clay. 

N. E. Guerin. 

In relation to pasturage, enough is not known to warrant a positive 
decision. Experiments upon the grasses and clovers have been limited 
in the districts over which I passed. On the low grounds they do well, 
and a few places in the mountains were visited, where timothy, herds- 
grass and clover, were growing as vigorously as they are usually found 
to do upon similar soils in the north. Many of the mountain-sides and 
coves are covered with a rich loamy soil, possessing ample fertility for 
the growth of any of the usual crops of the farmer. But as a large 
portion of the land, if plowed, would be liable to wash by rains, it can 
only be commended for pasture and grape-culture. As the amount of 
rain-fall exceeds that of the region of Pittsburg; and the soils are 
as fertile as any there, excepting the limestone lands; and the altitude 
will compensate for latitude, so far as temperature is concerned; there 
would seem to be no reason to doubt but that the Southern Highlands 
will be as favorable a region for wool-growing as that of Western 
Pennsylvania. 





CLIMATOLOGY OF NORTH CAROLINA. 


BY DAVID CHRISTY. 

Importance of this Subject — Blodgett^s Climatology—Mean Tempera^ 
ture for the Four Seasons — Rain-Fall for the Four Seasons — Com^ 
parison with other portions of the United States—Averages for the 
Year—Tabular Statement—Adaptatiori to Grape Culture — Compar¬ 
ison with Vine Districts in Europe—Remarks of Mr. Blodgett on 
Vine Culture. 

The value of the mountain district of North Carolina must depend, 
mainly, upon its adaptation to pasturage and the cultivation of fruits. 
An inquiry into its Climatology^ therefore, is of great importance. Its 
Meteorology may be inferred from the facts in the article on “ Fog and 
Rain in the Mountains.” In reference to its temperature and humidi¬ 
ty^ as compared with other sections of the country, the information is 
quite satisfactory. The Isothermal Finest and amount of Rain-fall 
have been traced by Blodgett, in his recent work on the Climatology 
of the United States, as compared with that of Europe. From this 
work the following facts are ascertained—the four seasons being taken 
separately, and his charts examined with care. 

The line of 55°, mean temperature for Spring, starting in the Gulf 
Stream nearly midway between 35° and 40° N. L., curves north¬ 
ward to near Washington City, and runs thence S. W., along the 
southern base of the Alleghanies, to a point west of Chapel Hill, N. 
C.; thence it runs W. across the Alleghanies, at Black Mountain, to 
Knoxville, Tenn.; thence N. W. to Louisville, Ky.; thence W. to St. 
Louis, Mo.; thence S. W. to near Fort Scott; and thence by various 
extensive curves, crossing the plains and mountains, to San Francis¬ 
co, on the Pacific. 

The line of 60°, mean temperature for Spring, starts in the Gulf 
Stream at Beaufort, N. C., and passes thence N. W. to Raleigh, N. C.; 
thence curving S. W. around the Western termination of the Alle¬ 
ghanies, it runs N. W. to Nashville, Tenn,; thence westward, by 
curves similar to those of the line of 55°, to the valleys of San Joa¬ 
quin and Sacramento rivers, in California; and thence southeastward, 
to San Diego, on the Pacific. 

The line of 50°, mean temperature for Spring, starts in the At- 


♦ Lines passing through places of equal meah temperature are termed Isother¬ 
mal Lines. 

( 20 ) 





____ Climatology of North Carolina, 21 

lantic, on 40° N. L., and runs north of Philadelphia, in a curving line 
westward, to Pittsburg, Penn.; thence west to the Ohio State line- 
thence S. W. to Columbus, Ohio; thence N. W. to Rock Island, in the 
Mississippi river; thence W. to Fort Desmoine, Iowa; thence N. W. to 
ort Benton, near the head of the Missouri river; and, again, from 
Fort Desmoine, to Council Bluffs; and thence by various curves to S. 
W. and N. W. to Vancouver’s Island, on the Pacific. 

The line of 72°, mean temperature for Summer, starts at New-York 
City and curves S. W. along the Blue Ridge, crossing the Alleghanies 
^Black Mountain, N. C., and curving N. W., then N. E., and again N. 
W., so as to pass a little to the south of Marietta and Columbus, 0., 
and thence westward in a very serpentine course, to the Pacific. 

The line of 75°, mean temperature for Summer, starting at Balti¬ 
more, Md., curves, nearly in the same manner with that of 72°, to the 
S. W., and passing over to the N. W. end of the Alleghanies, runs N. 
W. to Louisville, Ky., and thence, after the manner of the lines for 
Spring, passes onward to the Pacific. 

The mean temperature of the districts under consideration, for Au¬ 
tumn, vary but little from those of Spring, except that Cincinnati is on 
the line of 55°, instead of 54.3-lOth deg., and Columbus, Ohio, on 
52° instead of 50°. 

The mean temperature for Winter, in the mountains of North Car¬ 
olina, is from 35° to 40°. The same lines include Knoxville and 
Nashville, Tenn., and Louisville, Ky.—Nashville being on 40° and 
Louisville on 35°. Cincinnati is on 32.9-lOth deg. 

For the Spring, the greater portion of the mountain regions of 
North Carolina fall within the lines of 55° and 60°, mean temperature. 
That portion of the state through which the Rabun Gap Railroad is 
located, will be in the range of 57J° mean temperature, for the Spring, 
but it will be more or less modified by differences in altitude.* The 
eastern portion of Cherokee county, N. C., may be taken as the repre¬ 
sentative point for this region. The mean temperature of Cincinnati, 
for the Spring, as indicated by its position on the chart, is intermediate 
between 50° and 55°. By the tables it is shown to be 54.3-lOth deg. 

These remarks need not be prolonged, by pointing out the mean 
temperatures for the other seasons, as the figures are presented in the 
tabular statement which follows the outline of the facts in relation to 
the Rain-fall of the districts under consideration. 


* See the general principles on this point, as stated in the article on “Fog and 
Rain in the Mountains.” 






22 


Climatology of North Carolina. 


The amount of rain^ as shown by Blodgett’s Charts, which falls in 
North Carolina, and in the region of Pittsburg, Louisville and Cin¬ 
cinnati, for the Spring, is equal, being ten inches over the whole area. 
This being the season of germination and growth, the advantages of 
these districts, as to humidity, are equal. 

The rain charts, for Summer, show that the mountain regions of 
North Carolina and the Tennessee valley, as far as Knoxville, have but 
twelve inches of rain, while the section including Chapel Hill, N. C., 
Louisville, Ky. and Cincinnati, Ohio, has fourteen inches. Baleigh, 
N. C., Milledgeville, Ga., Huntsville, Ala., Nashville, Tenn. and Lit¬ 
tle Bock, Ark., are included within a zone which has a fall of fifteen 
inches of rain in Summer. Pittsburg, and a large area north and south 
from that city, have but ten inches. 

The rain charts, for Autumn, show that the mountains of North 
Carolina have but eight inches of rain, while Baleigh and Chapel Hill, 

N. C., Huntsville, Ala., Nashville, Tenn., Louisville, Ky. and Cincin¬ 
nati, 0., have ten inches. Knoxville, Tenn., Marietta and Columbus, 

O. and Pittsburg, Penn., have nine inches. , 

The rain charts, for Winter, give to North Carolina ten inches of 
rain, and to Louisville and Cincinnati twelve inches. 

The mean temperature for the year, as given in the Isothermal Charts, 
for the whole mountain region of North Carolina, and for Knoxville 
and Nashville, Tenn., Louisville, Ky. and St. Louis, Mo., is from 55® 
to 60°; while Cincinnati has a mean temperature of 53.8-lOth deg. 
The Babun Gap Bailroad passes on the line of about 59° mean tem¬ 
perature, for the year. 

The rain chart for the year, gives forty inches of rain to the moun¬ 
tains of North Carolina; forty-two inches to the next zone, or circle, 
outside, including Chapel Hill, N. C., and Marietta and Columbus, 0.; 
forty-five inches to the next zone, including Baleigh, N. C., Augusta, 
Ga., Nashville, Tenn. and Indianapolis, la.; forty-eight inches to the 
next, including Charleston, S. C. and Cincinnati, 0.; fifty inches in 
the next, including Savannah, Ga., Louisville, Ky. and Natchitoches, 
La.; fifty-five inches in the next, including Montgomery and Hunts¬ 
ville, Ala,, Memphis, Tenn. and Little Bock, Ark.; sixty inches to the 
next, including Natchez, Miss., Baton Bouge and New Orleans; and 
sixty-three inches in the area including Mobile and Pensacola. Pitts¬ 
burg, Penn., and a large area north and south of that city, have only 
thirty-six inches of rain in the year. 

To alford some idea of the difference in the temperoAure and rainfall 
in the United States, as compared with the vine districts of Europe, a 



Climatology of North Carolina. 


23 


few places in each are given to serve as a means of contrast. They are 
copied from Blodgett’s Tables, or taken from his charts, and are pre¬ 
sented as representative points for the districts in which they are in¬ 
cluded. The altitude above the sea level, and the latitude of each 
place is given. 


Places. 

Lat. 

Alt. 

Temperature. 

Am't of rain in inches. 

Sp’g Sum 

Aut. 

Win,Ye’r 

«p’g 

Sum Aut.j 

Win 

Ye’r 

X/isbon, Portugal, 

o / 

38.42 

sea level 

o 1 O 
M 70 Q 

O 

62.5 

o 

52.5 

o 

61.4 






Funchal, Madeira, 

32.37 

1.200 

65.6 

71.3 

69!o 

61.9 

66.9 

5.1 

2.3 

7.0 

10.5 

30.9 

Turin, Piedmont, 

45.11 

857 

53.7 

71.5 

53.8 

33.5 

53.1 

8.2 

9.0 

11.5 

7.8 

36.5 

Vienna, Lyons," 

45.32 

300? 

56.2 

71.8 

54.6 

38.7 

55.3 

10.2 

9.5jl0.4 

4.3 

34.4 

Bordeaux, W, Fr’e, 

44.50 

sea level 

56.1 

71.1 

57.9 

43.1 

57.0 

7.3 

7.4:10.3 

9.0 

34.0 

Vevay, Switzerl’d, 

46.28 

1.250 

50.5 65.7 

51.0 

35.9 

50.8 

7.9 

IO. 8 I 1 I.I 

3.9 

33.8 

Manheim, Rhine, 

49.29 

258 

50.1 67.4 

49.9 

33.6 

50.3 

6.3 

8.0 

7.4 

5.3 

27.0 

Dijon, E. France, 

47.19 

746 

53.3'69.6 

53.8 

35.4 

52.9 

7.1 

7.5 

1 9.3 

7.3 

31.2 

Chalons, N. E. Fr., 

48.57 

492 

51.0166.8 

53.8 

37.1 

52.2 

5.4 

6.2 

6.1 

5.6 

23.3 

Cincinnati, Ohio, 

39.06 

550 

54.3i73.0 

55.0 

32.9 

53.8 

11.9 

14.2 

10.0 

11.3 

47.5 

St. Louis, Missouri, 

38.37 

450 

56.9 

76.2 

54.4 

33.9 

55.5 

12.7 

14.0 

8.7 

7.0 

41.7 

Huntsville, Ala., 

34.45 

550? 

59.9 

75.6 

59.8 

42.1 

59.7 

14.9 

14.6 

10.0 

14.4153.9 

Chapel Hill, N. C., 

35.54 

570 

59.3 

76.3 

60.2 

42.9 

59.7 

10.0 

14.0 

10.0 

10.042.0 

Cherokee Co., N. C., 

35&36 

1.400t 

57.5 

73.5 

57.5 

37.5 

59.0 

10.0 

12.0 

8.0 

10.0140.0 


From the foregoing facts, it would appear that North* Carolina is 
more favorable to Grape culture than any of the regions in the United 
States, with which it is here contrasted. J But upon this subject we must 
let Mr. Blodgett speak. After comparing the temperature and humid¬ 
ity of the United States with the vine districts of Europe, he sums up 
the results as follows: 

“ The most conspicuous feature of this comparison is the excess of 
temperature and amount of rain for the summer in America, as com¬ 
pared with Europe. Both these measures are here so far in excess, 
compared with districts in which a similar extent of vine culture exists 
in Europe, that the parallel seems to fail of significance or of applica¬ 
tion in this connection. We are, in truth, thrown upon a new trial 
and upon the development of new or native varieties which will bear 
the peculiarities of climate, in regard to which we differ from Europe 
too widely to transfer their most successful varieties. * * 

The southern portions of the Alleghany mountains, bordering the 


And the valley of the Rhone. t Ranging from 1.400 to 4.500 feet, 

f; The extremes of temperature in that state are not so great in winter, as in 
Cincinnati. The lowest temperature in the former, for ten years past, occurred 
in the winter of 1855-56, and only once, in the month of March, when the mer¬ 
cury fell to 6° below zero. The record referred to is that of Mr. N. E. Guerin, 
at Vinona, in the midst of the mountains, and at an elevation of over 2000 feet 
above the sea-level. 



































24 


Climatology of North Carolina. 


South Atlantic States, and those of the Gulf, possess general charac¬ 
teristics greatly favorable. They have less humidity than the plains 
below them, reversing the European law of humidity and aqueous pre¬ 
cipitation in this respect: and their exposures southward and sheltered 
valleys must favor this cultivation in a very great degree. 

“The present vine districts of Cincinnati, and other localities on 
the Ohio, and those on the Missouri, at Hermann, are very successful in 
every point except the liability to injury from excess of humidity and 
rains. The general climate will always present difficulties in this re¬ 
spect which the utmost care in cultivation and choice of position can 
modify only in degree.” 

This is theory. When we come to speak at large on the cultivation 
of the grape, and adaptation of North Carolina to its production, it 
will be seen that the practical results already attained are likely to 
sustain the theory very satisfactorily. 

We may add here a remark of Mr. Blodgett upon the influence of 
the mountains of America upon the temperature of the country around 
them. It is important: 

“It is singular that for the whole of the Appalachian system the 
elevations are not high enough, or the ranges not sufficiently continu¬ 
ous where high peaks are found, to cause any contrasts in climate on 
their opposite slopes. These slopes are every-where equally well wa¬ 
tered, and equally clothed with forests; and neither differs in any im¬ 
portant degree from the plains in the vicinity.We now scarcely 

regard the Alleghanies as disturbers of any condition of climate, ex¬ 
cept in the moderate degree produced by altitude alone, as they are as¬ 
cended.” 




FOa AND FAIN IN THE MOUNTAINS. 


BY DAVID CHRISTY. 

Fog and Rain Scene in a Cove—Form of the Mountains of North Car¬ 
olina—Their Balls—Production of Clouds and Rain—Measurement 
of Mountains — A Day among the Clouds—Their Movements — A 
Rainbow — Joanna's Ball—Remarkable Exhibition of Fog — Reflec¬ 
tions upon it—Philosophy of Clouds^ Rains and Fogs—Origin of the 
Remarkable Fog—Its Movements South—Its Dissolution—North Car¬ 
olina as a Home for the Invalid — Water-Spouts. 

The dwellers in the lowlands, who see no mountains towering up into 
the embrace of the clouds, have but a faint idea of the manner in 
which their rains are brewed. The first indications they have of ap¬ 
proaching storms, usually, is in seeing the dark clouds arise from the 
horizon, or in hearing the rumbling sound of the thunder from the 
point where earth and sky are blended. It is quite different, however, 
in mountain regions. There the eye often first sees the sky overcast 
at the zenith while the horizon remains quite clear, or the ear is at 
once stunned by the loudest peals of thunder immediately overhead. 

A sojourn of a few months, in the mountains of North Carolina, 
afforded me an opportunity of witnessing some of the many scenes, 
constantly occurring, in which fog and rain play their part. Take 
one instance. 

About seven o’clock one morning, while awaiting breakfast, I seat¬ 
ed myself in front of a log cabin in which I had tarried over night. 
It was located in a beautiful cove, surrounded on three sides by moun¬ 
tains, one of which ascended in a peak 1,450 feet and another 1,850 
feet above the creek-bed before the door—the highest one having an 
altitude of about 4,000 feet above the sea-level. The mountains range 
along the north, the west, and the south of the cove. To the eastward 
there is a wide opening in which hills of moderate elevation only are 
interposed. On the south, a gap in the mountain affords an outlet to 
the horseman, and on the west a deep notch serves a like purpose. 
This notch is intermediate between the two peaks, and is not more 
than one-third their hight. 

Suddenly a few misty flakes of fog moved slowly through the notch 
from the west. Presently larger masses followed, and these, again, 
were succeeded by still more extensive volumes. Breakfast over, we 
resumed our seats, the hospitable landlord warning me not to set out 

(25) 




26 


Fog and Rain in the Mountains. 


on my journey. The fog was now rolling through the notch tumult¬ 
uously, and filing off gracefully to the right and left, like soldiers 
passing a defile and preparing to attack an enemy in front. 

The sun was shining brightly. The foliage of the forest-trees had 
all the maturity and richness of verdure which the earlier springs of 
that latitude alford. Among the flowering bushes, beneath the lofty 
trees, were the Azalias decked in their blossoms of yellow, orange and 
crimson, and the Rhododendrons and Kalmia in their white and pink. 
The lilies and the lady-slippers, with a hundred other plants, in full 
bloom, lent their gaudy flowers to complete a landscape of unsur¬ 
passed beauty. 

From our position the fog wore the appearance of gigantic fleeces 
of the whitest wool. Onward, and still onward, its masses rolled along, 
the foremost seeming to be impelled forward, not by the winds, for it 
was calm, but by the fog in the rear; or rather, perhaps, by the at¬ 
traction of the mountains, or the force of an upper current in the at¬ 
mosphere. 

It was a beautiful scene to witness these bearers of fertilizing show¬ 
ers, as they gathered along the flanks of the mountains, leaving the 
summits undimmed in the sunbeams, while they gave a refreshing 
coolness to the circular area which they overshadowed. The sun was 
yet low in the east. As his empire was thus rapidly invaded, he 
seemed determined to resist to the last, and sent his beams far up the 
slope beneath the fog, which had now become so condensed as to wear 
the appearance of over-hanging clouds. His rays illuminated the 
vast underlying amphitheater, not shaded by the clouds, causing every 
dew-drop on leaf and flower to glitter like diamonds. The circles of 
light and shade, standing in strong contrast before us, produced a scene 
that was gorgeous in the extreme. 

But the clouds, accumulating faster and faster, soon covered not 
only the mountain-sides, but overspread the whole area of the cove; 
and advancing eastward, covered the face of the sun as with a curtain, 
shutting out his rays from the landscape around. We were now 
startled by a sudden flash of lightning, succeeded, instantly, by the 
roll of the thunder, which, reverberating among the mountains, pro¬ 
longed its tones to an extent unknown to the dwellers among the low¬ 
lands. The rain, which for a few minutes had fallen in a feeble driz¬ 
zle, now descended at once in a copious shower, as though it had been 
awaiting the signal of the electric flash to do its errand of mercy. 

A word, here, about the form of these mountains before proceeding 
with farther descriptions. Like all mountains composed of stratified 




Fog and Rain in the Mountains. 


27 


rocks, those of North Carolina run in lengthened ranges, mainly from 
northeast to southwest. In countries where the unstratified rocks 
prevail, the mountains mostly are thrown up into dome-shaped forms 
and are not found in continuous ranges. Here and there, however, in 
North Carolina, there are points which rise, dome-like, a thousand feet 
above the ordinary elevation of the mountains around. But they 
differ in nothing except altitude, from the geology of the country at 
large. These domes, in the western part of North Carolina, attain a 
hight of 3,000 feet above the beds of the rivers, and about 4,500 feet 
above the sea-level. Some of them reach an elevation of two or three 
hundred feet above the line at which the ordinary forest-trees can 
grow, and are destitute of timber, though covered with grasses and 
flowers. Here and there a group of briars, laurels, azalias and other 
shrubs, add their presence to vary the scenery of these celestial prairies. 

These elevated domes have much to do with the formation of clouds 
and the production of rain. They are locally called halU^ from their 
round appearance and naked surface. In the clearest days, often, the 
clouds can be seen forming around them at a greater or less distance 
above or below their summits. At times the rain-fall is limited to the 
area around the ball, where the cloud spends itself, so that its remain¬ 
ing vapor is drifted off or dissolved again in the atmosphere. At 
other times the clouds accumulate largely, and either from the influ¬ 
ence of currents of wind, or from electrical action, they move off so as 
to water the surrounding mountains and intervening valleys. It is 
not unusual for two balls, or for the summits of the lower mountains, to 
be forming wreaths of clouds around their brows at the same moment. 
These clouds, not infrequently, are attracted toward each other, and 
thus the vegetation of the intervening districts receives new life and 
vigor from the rains which they yield. 

It is these occasional showers which serve to keep up the mountain 
springs and streams in perpetual flow, and which supply to man and 
beast their water to drink, in a purity almost equal to the dews of 
heaven. The general rains of this region, like those of the Mississip¬ 
pi valley, usually, come from the west and southwest, in broad sheets 
of cloud overspreading the whole sky. 

On the 17th of July, 1857, accompanied by Mr. M. L. Brittain, 
I set out to measure the hight of Valley Biver ball, in Cherokee coun¬ 
ty, N. C. The instrument used was Locke’s Level. The distance to be 
measured, from the bed of the river to the top of the ball, owing 
to the circuitous route to be followed, was little less than five miles. 
Each sight taken with the instrument included the space between my 





28 


Fog and Bain in the Mountains. 

heels and my eye, or five feet seven inches; the whole number of the 
sights from the river to the summit of the ball being 535 and equaling 
2,987 feet. The point on Valley River from which we started, is near 
its head, and probably 200 feet above the bed of Hiwassee river, into 
which it empties at a distance of fourteen miles. The ball, therefore, 
must be more than 3,000 feet above Hiwassee. 

Before reaching the top of the main ball, a cloud came sweeping 
along, from the direction of the Tusquitta mountain, and poured down its 
rain as it progressed. It reached us in the form of a dense fog, as all 
clouds appear when we are in their midst. The cloud was about 500 
feet below the summit of the ball. On striking the mountain’s side, 
it rolled along amidst the trees to the top of the ball. While hover¬ 
ing there, as a hen over her brood, it sent an arm down the eastern 
side of the mountain, above the tree-tops, to a distance of several 
hundred feet; and then, as if reluctant to lose any portion of its mass, 
this arm was drawn up again into the bosom of the cloud. Rendered 
light and airy, from the loss of its rain, the cloud soon swept off to 
the eastward, so that we could complete our measurements. 

As anticipated, I found all the balls, within a distance of thirty 
miles, to be about the same hight. Two exceptions only existed. 
Tusquitta ball, to the southwest, and Laurel ball to the northward, 
were higher than the one we measured. These facts of course were 
ascertained by Locke’s Level from where we stood. 

Nearly all the balls in sight, more than a half dozen in number, and 
many of the higher portions of the lower ranges of the mountains, 
were repeatedly covered by rain-clouds during the day, which were 
either formed upon them or floated to them from one or another of the 
surrounding elevated points. Four or five of these clouds passed up 
Valley River toward us, but were generally exhausted of their rain be 
fore reaching our position. The valley is narrow, being little more 
than a mile in width, and runs in a southwest direction to the Hiwas¬ 
see. These showers presented varied appearances as they succeeded 
each other. One was from a cloud, the margins of which were equal 
in depth and density to the main part of its body. Its breadth was 
nearly equal to the width of the valley. There being little wind, the 
rain fell vertically, and presented the appearance of a large curtain, of 
semi-transparent gauze, suspended from the cloud to the earth, and 
having a length of two thousand feet. Another shower fell, an hour 
afterward, from a cloud with attenuated margins, but dense center. 
The sheet of water which fell from R presented the appearance of 
a semi-transparent fog in its center; but it gradually shaded off 



Fog and Rain in the Mouyitains. 


29 


toward the margins, into a misty haze scarcely obscuring the objects 
in the back-ground. It was difficult to distinguish where the rain-fail 
ceased and the pure air alone existed. A third, which occurred during 
our descent, was from a dense black cloud that overshadowed the valley 
and half the adjacent mountains. It had also great length to the 
westward. The body of water which it afforded was so dense, and the 
distance through which the eye had to penetrate so great, that every 
object in the back-ground was as completely obscured as though the 
pall of midnight had been drawn across the valley. 

We had reached a position two thousand feet below the ball and one 
thousand feet above the river, when this shower had so far passed 
over as to permit the sun to shine out brilliantly from the clear sky in 
the west. Immediately a rainbow of the greatest beauty was produced. 
The top of its arch reached a little above the summit of the ball, which 
we had just measured, thus throwing the main part of the bow below 
its level, and giving it a back-ground of the richest green which the 
foliage of the mountains could afford. Two mountains of unequal 
bight intervened between us and the ball. The nearest one was 
much the lowest, while the other rose half way to the summit of 
the ball. Upon its entire slope the lines of the rainbow were present¬ 
ed in a richness of color far transcending any thing of the kind I 
had ever witoessed. Upon the mountain nearest to us, as well as up¬ 
on the distant ball, the colors were paler. The accompanying second¬ 
ary bow possessed about as much brilliancy as the ordinary rainbows 
of the lowlands. 

The citizens of the vicinity insisted upon naming this ball for me, 
as I had made the only measurement ever attempted of any of the 
mountains in the vicinity. I declined the honor, but suggested they 
might call it Joanna’s Ball, for my mute daughter Joanna. This 
suggestion was adopted, and I since find that the surveyor, Mr. Pier- 
CY, employs it in describing the lands which he surveys. 

On another occasion business led me to Clayton, Ueorgia, in com¬ 
pany with Felix Axley, Esq. of Murphy, N. C. Clayton, is located in 
the northeast corner of Georgia, not far distant from Rabun Gap, 
through which the Charleston & Cincinnati Railroad is being con¬ 
structed. This gap is formed by a low depression in the Blue Ridge, 
consisting of some swampy lands in' which the head-waters of the Lit¬ 
tle Tennessee and of the Savannah take their rise. The mountains 
on each side of this gap rise to the bight of 1,500 feet. On the 
morning after our arrival, Mr. Axley awoke me, about sunrise, to look 
at a wonder which he said would interest me, and which he wished me 





30 


Fog and Bain in the Mountains. 


to explain. On looking out at tlie window toward the north, I beheld 
a vast volume of fog, filling the gap from base to summit, and occa¬ 
sionally extending even above the highest parts of the mountains. 
It was as white as snow, and resembled a vast deluge of cotton as it 
falls loosely from the gin. In front of the main gap, and between it 
and the town, there stands a small mountain, detached from the prin¬ 
cipal range, with a gap upon each side. The fog, as it rolled through 
the main gap, was deflected into the smaller gap, to the east of the lit¬ 
tle mountain. On viewing it for a few minutes, I was soon startled 
by noticing that though the whole immense volume of the fog was 
rolling forward at quite an observable rate of speed, yet it never passed 
much beyond the southern side of the little mountain. Onward it 
came, with a seeming force and bulk sufficient to overwhelm, in its dark¬ 
ness, the whole southern side of the Blue Kidge. But beyond the 
line named it could never pass. A barrier existed there, in the differ¬ 
ent conditions of the atmosphere, which at once dissolved the fog, and 
left the air as transparent as ever. Once in a while a small portion of 
the fog would whirl forward, a few hundred feet beyond the main mass, 
like a bold leader in front of an army, as if to encourage the forces be¬ 
hind to move onward with greater daring. But all was in vain, as leader 
and follower were quickly involved in a similar fate. The law which 
controlled the movements of the fog, said to it, emphatically, “ Thus far 
shalt thou come but no farther.” 

Turning to Mr. Axley, who had patiently watched me while I was 
absorbed in contemplating this wonderful phenomenon, I asked him if 
it had ever occurred before. “Yes sir,” he answered, “it occurs every 
clear morning from spring to fall. Beginning to roll through a little 
after daybreak and before the sun appears above the horizon, it con¬ 
tinues till from eight to ten o’clock, and this it repeats every clear day, 
and has repeated, doubtless, ever since the creation.” 

Again I turned to view the fog, and found it coming on to its fate, 
as regardless of consequences, apparently, as we thoughtless mortals 
often are when treading upon the very verge of destruction. 

“What are you thinking about,” inquired Mr. Axley. “Tell me, 
now, for I wish to know your thoughts.” was thinking, sir, that I 
have discovered a secret.” “ Out with it, then,” said Axley. “ I believe 
I now know why it is that northern fog makes so little impression up¬ 
on southern mind. There exists here a physical condition of atmos¬ 
phere, which at once dissipates any amount of fog that may be engen¬ 
dered on the northern side of the Blue Bidge, and renders it wholly 
innoxious to the inhabitants of the southern side. So in the southern 




Fog and Rain in the 31ountains. 31 

mind, there seems to exist a moral condition that has for years repelled 
all foggy invasions from the north, whether of mesmerism, mormonism, 
spirit-rappings, or abolition. All are rendered innoxious at the south, 
and have made but little more progress here, than yonder fog is able to 
do after laboring continuously ever since the waters of the deluge re¬ 
ceded from the face of the earth.” “ Well done, well done,” said Ax- 
ley, and away he went to allow me to finish dressing so as to be in time 
for breakfast. 

Before explaining the phenomena attending the fog at Clayton, and 
the causes of the production of clouds and rain in the mountains, a 
few general principles in natural philosophy must be stated. 

At all temperatures moisture exists in the atmosphere in an invisi¬ 
ble state. It sustains itself there in the intervals that exist between 
the particles of air. These intervals are either partially or wholly 
filled with the vapor constantly arising from the earth. When they 
are wholly filled with vapor the atmosphere is said to be saturated. 
An increase of temperature, by dilating the air, increases its capacity 
for moisture; while a diminution of temperature is followed by con¬ 
trary effects. But the capacity increases at a faster rate than the tem¬ 
perature, so that while the air, at 32° Fahrenheit, can contain only 
the 160th part of its own weight of vapor, at 113° it can contain the 
20th part of its weight. Thus it appears that while the temperature 
advances in an arithmetical series, the capacity is accelerated in a 
geometrical progression. A considerable increase of temperature, 
therefore, will enable even a saturated atmosphere to receive a greatly 
augmented amount of vapor, and, as it were, to swallow the clouds 
that may pass into it, without any diminution of its own transparency. 
On the contrary, when the temperature is diminished by the rapid 
union of two currents of air, saturated with vapor, the one being 
warm and the other cool, the average temperature is so reduced that 
an excess of vapor exists, which is incapable of sustaining itself in the 
diminished capacity of the air, and is necessarily precipitated in the 
form of rain. But when two currents of air, not fully saturated with va¬ 
por, are brought into contact, the precipitation of moisture is slight, and 
mists, only, are produced. When the mists, thus precipitated, are 
near the earth, they are called fogs, but when high in the air they take 
the name of clouds. 

Saussure and Kratzenstein have investigated the nature of fogs and 
'mists. The vapor, in this condition, is found to consist of minute 
globules, upon which rings of prismatic colors were discovered, like 
those seen upon soap bubbles, but which are never observed upon 





32 


Fog and Rain in the Mountains. 


drops of water. From this discovery it was concluded, that the glob¬ 
ules are hollow and filled with air or gas. The size of these globules 
is greatest when the atmosphere is very humid and least when it is dry. 

Another fact must be noted. The temperature of the air diminish¬ 
es with the altitude, but the law of decrease is very irregular, being 
affected by latitude, seasons, hours of the day, and a diversity of local 
circumstances. It may, however, be assumed as a general rule, that a loss 
of heat occurs to the extent of one degree, Fahrenheit, for every 343 
feet of elevation. But this is an average result, for the rate of de¬ 
crease is very rapid near the earth, after which it proceeds more slow¬ 
ly, and at the loftiest hights is again accelerated.* 

From this brief statement of the general principles governing the 
production of fogs and clouds, it will be apparent that the higher por¬ 
tions of the mountains of North Carolina must be refreshed by fre¬ 
quent rains. The elevated halls, ever clad in mantles of cold air, 
stand, as so many custom-house officers, to exact tribute from all the 
currents of air laden with vapor, from the warmer regions below, which 
attempt to sail over their summits. These currents of air can not but 
pause, when richly freighted, to divide their treasures with the thirsty 
soils and mountain-springs. And even when they are lightly bur¬ 
dened with vapor, and no rain can be condensed from them, these pass¬ 
ing currents often yield copious clouds of fog, covering the vegetation 
with moisture and promoting its more vigorous growth. 

Nor are the mountain-summits alone in the exactions they make 
upon the moving atmosphere for its vapors. The mountain-bases, all 
along the rivers and larger creeks, cool the surrounding atmosphere 
during the night, while the waters of the streams, retaining their 
warmth, send upward a plentiful evaporation. The vapor which is 
thus formed, rising into contact with the overhanging colder air, is 
condensed into fog and floats above the streams till the morning sun 
sets it in motion, or dissipates it by increasing the temperature of the 
air along the mountain-sides. 

The phenomena of the fog at Clayton, can now be easily explained. 
The Little Tennessee river takes its rise in Rabun Gap and runs north¬ 
west. By the junction of several large creeks, heading in the Blue 
Ridge, the river, soon after emerging from the mountains, becomes 
quite a considerable stream. It is walled in on each side by mountains 
of 1,500 to 2,500 feet in bight, which extends northward, as cross-ties, 
from the Blue Ridge to the Smoky Mountain. These mountains are 


* Brocklesby’s Meteorology. 





Fog and Rain in the Mountains. 


33 


covered with forest-trees from the base to the summit. The sun, during 
the hottest hours of the day, teems down its rays into the valley, and 
imparts a great amount of heat to the waters of the river as well as to 
the rocks among which it runs. The temperature of the water is thus 
kept up during the night, while, at the same time, the surrounding 
mountains cool the overhanging air. The vapor which rises rapidly 
from the heated water, coming into contact with the cold atmosphere 
above, is converted into fog. As the sun rises in the morning, his rays 
at once act upon the air south of the Blue Bidge, where no obstruction 
exists; but his heat can not affect that of the narrow valley of the 
Tennessee, till the sun attains a sufficient elevation to overcome the alti¬ 
tude of the mountain upon its eastern side. The rarefaction of the at¬ 
mosphere on the south side of the Blue Bidge, while that of the Ten¬ 
nessee valley remains at a lower temperature, produces a current of air 
from the north to the south, that bears the fog along with it through 
the gap. But here the increased heat, expanding the air in the glob¬ 
ules of vapor composing the fog, bursts the bubbles, and the fog is 
dissolved by absorption into the warmer atmosphere as transparent 
vapor. 

Such phenomena as those of the Clayton fogs, though rare, are not 
the only instances in which the accumulating clouds of one district, 
borne along by the wind's, are dissolved in another, and may again re¬ 
appear in a third. Some years since, on the coast of England, there 
occurred an instance of the appearance and disappearance of a cloud 
with its reappearance again at a point not far distant. It came float¬ 
ing onward toward an arm of the sea, where it disappeared at the mo¬ 
ment of coming above the water. On, and on, it came, for hours, but 
seemed to make no progress beyond the margin of the sea. It was 
soon observed, however, that the cloud was re-forming on the opposite 
coast, and continued, as long as the flrst cloud lasted, to float onward 
from that point, at a rate of speed equal to that of the first from which 
its vapor was derived. The cause of this remarkable occurrence is to 
be found in the fact, that the atmosphere, over the arm of the sea, was 
warmer and had less humidity than that of the lands on either side of 
the Channel. 

It frequently happens that clouds hang around the summits of 
mountains, though the particles which compose them are continually 
changing. An example of this occurs upon the St. Gothard, a mount¬ 
ain in Switzerland, about 6000 feet above the sea. Dark, heavy clouds, 
that form on one side of the mountain, are frequently seen passing 
rapidly over its summit, and descending in dense masses into the vale 




84 


Fog and Bain in the Mountains, 


of Tremola on the opposite side, where they are immediately dissolved 
by the warm, dry air into which they are precipitated.* 

The vapor which rolled through the notch into the cove, noticed in 
the first part of this article, had, doubtless, formed the night previous 
in the valley of Cheoah river, which lies directly to the westward. 
Overshadowed by the mountains, the atmosphere of that river must 
have been cooler than that of the cove, into which the sun was bright¬ 
ly shining. Two masses of air, both of which must have been satu¬ 
rated with vapor, being thus brought into contact, the temperature was 
diminished and the excess of moisture precipitated. 

And now, kind reader, allow me to say, that your dyspeptic friends, 
if once settled among these mountains, would soon be restored to 
health. Some have tried it with abundant success. The water from 
these crystaline rocks is wholly destitute of lime, or so nearly so that 
molluscs in the rivers can not construct their shells and are, consequent¬ 
ly, very rarely to be found. There is no stagnant water, hereabouts, 
in ponds and marshes, to produce malaria. The water of the springs 
is as clear as crystal, except when rendered grumly by dashing rains, 
and is far sweeter and more palatable than the best filtered water of the 
lowlands. Send a dyspeptic to a Water-cure establishment, if you will, 
to take his daily rounds in drinking cold water and walking his one mile 
or six miles per day to keep from dying: feed him on bran bread and slices 
of bacon-side, lest he overtask his digestive organs: you might as well 
send him to the tread-mill for exercise, and put a box of bran before 
him to satisfy his hunger, as though he were a blind horse. Send 
your dyspeptic friends to such places if you will; but I shall not do so 
with mine. I shall place a gun in his hand, and, if necessary, give 
him a horse to carry him to the pathways of the deer in these moun ¬ 
tains. The hounds shall accompany him and, coursing the forests, will 
start the noble buck and give him chase. As the animal dashes along 
its wonted route, to escape its jvirsuers, I shall not ask my invalid 
friend to dismount and be prepared for the shot as the game passes. 
He will do this almost by instinct; and if a wound is given, not in¬ 
stantly fatal, I shall not instruct him to give chase along with the dogs, 
to be in at the death. He will do this involuntarily, and will run a 
mile or two without thinking of his feebleness. When success has 
crowned his exertions, I shall not prescribe cold water; he will soon 
seek the mountain-stream and drink of it plentifully. When he 
reaches home, with his buck before him on his horse, and an appetite 


Broeklesby’s Meteorology. 






Waterspouts in the Mountains. 


35 

created by tbe exercise and excitement of the scenes througli whicli 
he has passed, I shall not set before him the rude fodder of the Gra^ 
hamite. Ilis knife will soon supply him with steaks of the venison, 
and a spit of wood will serve to cook it in the blazing fire. His blood 
now coursing freely in his veins, will carry with it the elements of di¬ 
gestion, and a hearty meal of the wild meat will sit lightly upon his 
Btomach. A routine of such sports, amidst turkeys, deer and bears, 
all of which abound in these mountains, will rejuvinate almost any 
naan not radically diseased. 

In this connection another phenomenon, occurring in the mountains 
of North Carolina and Tennessee, may be noticed. It is not one of 
the peaceful nature of the Fog and Rain, but, though limited in its 
range, must be terrific beyond conception. An eye-witness describing 
one of these scenes to the writer, conveyed a most vivid impression 
of the fearful character of the elemental strife occurring on such occa¬ 
sions. 

Once or twice in a generation, perhaps, a Water-^po 2 it bursts upon 
some elevated point of a mountain. Previous to its descent, the clouds 
are seen moving to and fro, and commingling in a confused manner, 
somewhat as the circling eddies of a whirlpool. When concentrated 
above or around the mountain’s summit, the cloud acquires such a 
density as to wmar the appearance of the blackness of darkness. The 
roll of the accompanying thunder is deafening and almost continuous, 
shaking the eternal hills to their base; while the flashes of lightning, 
following each other in quick succession, afi*ord a glare of glimmering 
light, nearly as luminous as that of the sun. Then comes a river of 
waters, dashing down the mountain-side, and tearing up, in its resist¬ 
less progress, earth, rocks and trees, and bearing them to the valley 
below, or casting them off to either side of the deep chasm which it 
excavates. 

The amount of water, at times, discharged from such clouds is im¬ 
mense, swelling inconsiderable creeks into great rivers. The water¬ 
spouts of Tusquitta mountain. North Carolina, which occurred many 
years since, sent down such a deluge of water as to sweep away a mill 
and distillery, which stood in its course, and to create a destructive 
rise iti the Hiwassee river. A like result was produced by the water¬ 
spout of the Chilhowee mountain, near Little River, Tennessee, where 
another distillery was swept away by the descending torrents. No 
other serious injuries to property are mentioned as resulting from these 
water-spouts, except the destruction of the two distilleries; a result 
that few seemed to regret, while others appeared willing to pray that 



36 


Water-sjpouts in the Mountains. 


sufficient water-spouts might now be sent to destroy all the distilleries 
in the country. 

But what is most strange in these water-spouts, is the effects pro¬ 
duced at the place of their origin, proving conclusively, that the whole 
of the descending water, from the cloud, is contracted to one point. 
Those visiting these localities, soon after the occurrence of the water¬ 
spout, found a deep chasm excavated in the earth to the depth of sev¬ 
eral feet, with its sides as vertical as if dug with the spade. The roots 
of the trees and plants, beneath the surface, were cut off as squarely as 
if done with a knife. At the surface, close up to the sides of the 
chasm, nothing seemed to be disturbed. The shrubs and grass, and 
even the fallen leaves upon the ground, remained unmoved, as though 
no running water had come into contact with them. This was the 
condition of things where the water-spout first struck the earth; and 
as the excavation, at the point of origin, had a width of but a few 
yards, the whole volume of the descending water must have been con¬ 
centrated within that space, and continued thus contracted till the 
contents of the cloud were exhausted. In descending the mountain, 
along the line of the widening chasm, evidences existed that the tor¬ 
rent, in places, had attained a depth of fifty or sixty feet. Its hydro¬ 
static power, also, was often amply demonstrated in the uprooting of 
the largest trees, and in the removal of immense rocks from the wide 
avenue it created in its descent. These avenues are now filled up with 
a growth of pine-trees, enabling the eye to trace the course of the flood 
created by the water-spout, from the summit to the base of the moun¬ 
tains. One of these avenues exists on the western end of the Chil- 
howee Mountain, at the Little Tennessee Biver, and is plainly seen at 
a distance of many miles. The water-spout which produced it oc¬ 
curred since the settlement of the whites in its vicinity. 

About sixty or seventy years since, a water-spout burst upon the 
North Mountain to the westward of Newville, Pennsylvania, carrying 
destruction in its course. Many cattle and hogs were drowned at the 
foot of the mountain, where they were confined within enclosures, pre¬ 
venting escape. The largest rocks were torn from their beds, and a 
deep chasm excavated from the top of the mountain to the valley. Its 
course can yet be traced by the difference in the trees within it from 
those on either side. In all respects it resembled the water-spouts of 
North Carolina. 

The philosophical explanation of the causes of these water-spouts, 
is left for others more conversant wdth the laws of electrical action, to 
which, doubtless, their origin must be referred. 





THE FRUIT OF THE VINE: 

ITS USES AS A MEDICINE AND DANGERS AS A BEVERAGE. 


BY DAVID CHRISTY. 


Remarks on animal physiology—Vegetable proximate principles — 
Elements of respiration and nutrition — Animal heat—Effects of 
starvation—Wine as a medicine — Alcohol—Its importance in sick¬ 
ness — Its disuse impracticable—Wine as a beverage — Tendency of 
alcohol to disturb healthy action—A contrast—Wine and beer less 
dangerous—Have less alcohol—Proportion of alcohol in wine — Tem¬ 
perance in wine countries—Its cause — Oxygen—Its metamorphosis of 
the tissues — This promotive of health—Alcohol checks it—This in¬ 
jures health—The important point in this question—Closing re¬ 
marks. 

The primary conditions of the maintenance of animal life^ are a 
constant supply of articles of food and of oxygen in the shape of 
atmospheric air. As soon as an animal is released from it depend- 
ence upon the parent for sustenance, and begins to receive food 
into its stomach, the process of digestion and the formation of chyme 
and chyle begins, and the independent production of blood is com¬ 
menced. As long as an animal lives, its blood is in a state of con¬ 
stant motion and of constant change; giving off its elements of 
nutrition as it courses through the system, wherever they are de¬ 
manded to form, to complete, or to sustain, the various tissues of 
the body. The process has been thus described: “Light red blood 
streams out from the heart, through the arteries, into all parts of 
the body, from which it returns, darker colored, through the veins, 
back again to the heart. But before the latter blood recommences 
its circulation, it is impelled through the lungs, in which it comes 
in immediate contact with the inhaled air, and by means of which 
it experiences a most remarkable change. When in contact with 
the air, the dark venous blood is converted again into light red ar¬ 
terial blood, and thereby the air loses a part of its free oxygen^ and 
receives in return carbonic acid and vapor; the exhaled air is accord- 
ingly poor in oxygen, but rich in carbonic acid and vapor.”* 

From the known properties of vegetable products, it is evident 


* Stockhardt. 


( 37 ) 






38 


The Fruit of the Vine: 


that the food of animals includes two distinct series of proximate 
principles: those which are destitute of nitrogen^ and those which 
include that element. The first class is composed of carbon, hydro¬ 
gen, and oxygen, and is principally concerned in maintaining ani¬ 
mal temperature, by a species of slow combustion —that is digestion 
—terminating in the production of carbonic acid and water, which 
are thrown off by the skin and lungs: these substances, therefore, 
have been termed elements of respiration. The second class consists 
chiefiy of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, together with 
sulphur and phosphorus, and is employed for the formation of the 
principal organs of the body: these substances have been called 
plastic elements of nutrition. The elements of respiration include 
starch, gum, sugar, woody fiber, fat, alcohol, beer, and wine; the 
elements of nutrition are the products of vegetables containing nitro¬ 
gen and the flesh and blood of animals. The substances which 
enter the stomachs of animals as food, are subjected to the process 
of digestion, and converted into chyme. The chyme passes from the 
stomach into the small intestines, where it soon changes its appear¬ 
ance, by becoming blended with bile, and is ultimately separated 
into two portions, one of which is white as milk, and is termed 
chyle: the other portion, passing on, is finally ejected as excrement. 
This chyle, on being absorbed, carries with it, into the blood, all of 
the elements both of respiration and nutrition which, by digestion, 
are separated from the food ; and thus, not only is the animal heat 
maintained, but the solid parts of the body are continually replen¬ 
ished from the elements of nutrition which are borne along by the 
blood in the course of its circulation. The disappearance of the 
food, taken into the stomach, occurs exactly in the same way as that 
of the wood with which we heat our apartments. It is changed 
into aeriform combinations; that is, into carbonic acid and vapor, 
which are partly exhaled by the lungs, and partly evaporated from 
the skin.* By this process heat becomes free in the animal body as 
a result of digestion, just as it becomes free in the stove as a result 
of combustion. By the union of carbon with oxygen, in whatever 
part of the system this is effected, heat must be evolved, on the well 
established principle that the formation of carbonic acid is always 
attended with the evolution of heat.f We can now understand the 
origin of animal heat, and why it is that a healthy condition of the 
digestive organs is essential to its preservation in a proper degree. 


• Stockhardt. 


+ Pereira. 




39 


Its uses as a Medicine and dangers as a Beverage. 

This subject demands some further investigation, to enable us to 
comprehend the effects of alcohol upon the human body * In the 
natural and healthy condition of the system, the food supplies the 
necessary carbon for the support of animal heat; but when food is 
withheld, the fat of the body is consumed, its carbon being con¬ 
verted into carbonic acid, and its hydrogen into water. Hence re¬ 
sults the emaciation attending long abstinence or starvation. The fat 
of animals, therefore, may be compared to the storehouses of fuel 
which are laid up for winter, when an increased amount of heat is 
needed, and daily supplies of firewood can not be obtained. In the 
process of starvation^ however, it is not only the fat which disappears, 
but also, by degrees, all such of the solids as are capable of being 
dissolved by the oxygen. For, in the absence of the elements of 
respiration, which, like those of nutrition, are also supplied by the 
food, the oxygen, after consuming the fat in the system, combines 
with other solid parts of the body and consumes them also. Toward 
the end the particles of the brain begin to undergo the process of 
oxydation, and delirium, mania, and death close the scene.f 

From the foregoing it appears, that if the supply of food be cut 
off from a healthy man, or if disease destroys his digestion, no addi¬ 
tional blood can be formed, and his life must pay the forfeit. Let 
us look at a few of the facts. The whole weight of the blood in a 
healthy man is estimated at 24 pounds, of which 80 per cent, is 
water. From the known composition of the blood, it would only 
require 64,102J grains of oxygen to convert the carbon and hydro¬ 
gen of these 24 pounds into carbonic acid and water and remove 
them from the system. An adult man absorbs into his system 321§ 
ounces, or 15,661 grains of oxygen daily; it would, therefore, re¬ 
quire only four days and five hours for the decomposition of the 24 
pounds of blood, and for the speedy death of the man, unless new 
blood -were produced by the supply of food, or some element of 
respiration taken into the stomach to relieve the solid parts of the 
body from the action of oxygen, and prevent their entire decompo¬ 
sition. 

We may now proceed to consider the uses of wine as a medicine; 
and, in the discussion, reference will only be made to the sick or the 
invalid. Men in health, if wise, do not take medicine. In cases 

- — - » - - - 

* The term alcohol is used to represent all the common liquors in use which 
embrace alcohol. 

t Liebig. i Liebig—French weight. § Lavoisier—French weight. 





40 


The Fruit of the Vine: 


of sickness, where the digestion is impaired or destroyed, the 
elements of respiration can not be supplied to the blood, in the ordi¬ 
nary mode, as the digestive organs are powerless. They must reach 
that fountain of life by some means independent of digestion. And 
here it is that the physician finds alcohol his last and best resort. Its 
composition is carbon 52.17, hydrogen 13.31, oxygen 34.52 = 100 
parts. It has no nitrogen^ and is purely an element of respiration ; 
and not only so, but it acts independent of the powers of digestion, 
and enters the circulation by absorption. In this consists its great 
excellence. Being indigestible^ it has not to await the tardy action 
of the stomach, but reaches the blood, as it were, by a single thrill, 
reviving the drooping energies of the patient almost as speedily as 
the electric shock traverses the system. The alcohol being intro¬ 
duced into the circulation, it affords the oxygen the means of com¬ 
bination, and prevents its action upon the solids of the body. It 
thus retards the wasting of the tissues, keeps up the animal heat, 
and affords time for the processes of nature and the action of medi¬ 
cine to overcome disease; whereas, if the system be left unprotected 
from the action of oxygen, the metamorphosis of the tissues proceeds 
with rapidity, and the patient is soon reduced so as to be beyond the 
power of the physician to save. These are the uses of wines, or any 
kind of pure spirits, as medicines. If, however, impure brandies 
and wines are administered, in extreme debility, they must have a 
pernicious effect, like improper medicines, and may turn the scale 
deathwards; when, if pure articles are used, the opposite results 
may be attained. 

From what has been said in relation to the action of alcohol as 
a Medicine^ it may be easily divined that it must exert a powerful 
influence upon the human constitution when used as a Beverage, 
This point should be considered with care; and, in its discussion, it 
must be noted, that our remarks are to be applied only to persons 
in good health, and not to the sick or the invalid. 

In all our common articles of food, the elements of nutrition and 
respiration., as already intimated, are so nicely balanced in their pro¬ 
portions, that, for the diet of a healthy man, there is no necessity 
for adding an extra quantity either to the one class or the other; 
or, in other words, the supply of nutrition and of animal heat is so 
admirably equalized, in the composition of common food, that any 
material derangement of the proportions which it affords, is at¬ 
tended with a corresponding derangement of the vital functions. 
It is obvious, therefore, that if we add a portion of alcohol to the 



Its uses as a Medicine and dangers as a Beverage. 


41 


food taken into tlie stomach, the elements of respiration are in¬ 
creased and the animal heat augmented in a proportionate degree. 
No part of the alcohol can go to form the tissues of the body, or 
to renovate and sustain them, as it is destitute of nitrogen, and not 
an element of nutrition. It can only serve as an element of respi¬ 
ration, to be burned in the lungs of the man, and to add to the 
amount of his animal heat. The result is, that as the quantity of 
alcohol is increased from habit, an unnatural exhilaration is pro¬ 
duced, leading to an overtasking of the muscular and nervous sys¬ 
tems, and to premature decay in the manhood of the victim. To 
use a familiar phrase, he has “lived too fast.” 

Let us gain a clearer view of this point by contrast. We know 
that an insufficient supply of food, tends to produce paleness of the 
cheek, because both the animal heat and the nutrition are less than 
is demanded to keep up the healthful condition of the system. On 
the other hand, where age has not indurated the skin, an abun¬ 
dance of food keeps up the vital powers, and the face, possessing 
the ruddy color of health, bears testimony to a well-stored stomach. 
But when alcohol is added, in such a case, in excess, the nice bal¬ 
ance between nutrition and respiration is destroyed, the healthful 
action of the animal functions is impaired, the ruddy glow of health 
disappears from the cheek, the deep red of the furnace heated by 
flame overcasts the countenance, and the habits of the inebriate 
stand revealed. Now, if pure alcohol will do all this upon a 
healthy constitution—and none dare gainsay its truth—how much 
more fatal, and how much more speedy, must be the production of 
the crisis, in the drinker’s career, where deleterious compounds are 
used in its stead? 

But while alcohol is exclusively an element of respiration, and 
all its modifications of brandy, rum, gin, and whisky, possess only 
this property, beer and wine, not being the product of distillation^ 
retain a portion of.the elements of nutrition, belonging to the sub¬ 
stances of which they are manufactured, and have been considered 
as less pernicious, on this account, than distilled spirits. There is 
some truth in this view; but the less injurious effects of befer and 
wine are not attributable, we think, so much to the nutrition they 
include, as to the limited degree of concentration in the alcohol 
they contain- Baron Liebig asserts, that a person who drinks 
eight or ten quarts, daily, of the best Bavarian beer, obtains from 
it, in a whole year, exactly the quantity of nutrition which is con¬ 
tained in a five pound loaf of bread or three pounds of flesh. 



42 


The Fruit of the Vine: 


Wines will not exceed beer in tbeir nutritive constituents, and can 
not, tberefore, be considered as having more than a mere shade of 
nutritive qualities. The mildness of their action upon the system 
must be due, then, to the small per cent, of alcohol which they 
contain, as compared with distilled spirits, and.to the modifying 
influences, perhaps, which are exerted by their nutritive properties. 

Let us see how much alcohol is consumed by wine drinkers, and 
then we can form a better judgment as to the effects of wine as a 
beverage. The cheaper kinds of pure wines, used by the common 
people of Europe, have no more than seven or eight per cent, of 
alcoholj while some of the more costly varieties contain nearly 
double that amount. In using the eight per cent, wine, at the 
rate of a half pint per day, a man takes into his system, in one 
hundred days, exactly two quarts of alcohol, and in a year seven 
and three-tenth quarts. This is barely a gill of alcohol in six and 
a quarter days, or a pint in twenty-five days. Allow double this 
amount, or a pint of wine a day, and the man who drinks it con¬ 
sumes but a gill of alcohol in three and one-eighth days, or a pint 
in twelve and a half days. 

It will now be readily understood why less intemperance prevails 
in wine-producing countries, than in those where distilled spirits 
are largely manufactured. The pure wines have not sufl&cient alco¬ 
hol, in the quantity which men generally can afford to drink, to 
produce any very injurious effects. This result, however, may not 
be due so much to the small amount of alcohol which the wine con¬ 
tains, as to another very obvious cause. Starch is the principal 
element of respiration in the food of men well to live; but the 
coarse bread of the peasantry is deficient in starch, and the wine 
used at their meals may only make up the deficiency in the ele¬ 
ments of respiration, and, consequently, no bad effects result from 
its use. But among the higher classes, where the food is richer in 
starch, and the stronger wines are used, and in greater quantities, 
the alcohol consumed must make more impression upon the consti¬ 
tution, and intemperance prevail chiefly in these circles. 

To understand more fully the effects of Wine as a Beverage^ refer¬ 
ence must again be had to the agency of oxygen in decomposing 
the solids of the body. It has been explained how this occurs in 
sickness or starvation. In such cases the waste of the fleshy parts 
of the body is disastrous, because they can not be renewed, on 
account of the absence of the elements of nutrition in the blood. 
But the oxygen is no less effective in its action upon persons in 




43 


Its uses as a Medicine and dangers as a Beverage. 

health, though the results are not so obvious as in sickness, for the 
reason that the parts removed are constantly reproduced from the 
daily use of food. This wasting process, as already stated, is called 
the metamorphosis of the tissues^ and is essential to the maintenance 
of a sound condition of the bodies of healthy men. By it the tis¬ 
sues are metamorphosed into carbonic acid and water, which, pass¬ 
ing off by the skin and lungs, makes way for the constant renewal 
of the tissues by the elements of nutrition supplied by the blood. 
It is by this means that a perpetual waste and reproduction of all 
parts of the body is carried on, and that man’s strength is renewed, 
day by day, as long as the equilibrium is kept up between the ele¬ 
ments of respiration and nutrition. But when alcohol is taken into 
the stomach, in excess, it is diffused throughout the system, along 
with the blood, and the oxygen has to dispose of it by converting 
it into carbonic acid and water. The metamorphosis of the tissues 
is thus interfered with, by the presence of the alcohol, and it ceases 
to proceed in a healthy manner. The effects of the alcohol upon 
the system, of course, must be proportioned to the quantity used. 
A small amount taken daily, by a healthy person, may not seem, 
at once, to produce any very decided results; yet the natural ten¬ 
dency, even of small quantities, such as is contained in wine, is to 
disturb the healthy action of the system, produce a morbid de¬ 
rangement of appetite, increase the desire for indulgence, augment 
the quantity consumed, impair the intellectual faculties, and de¬ 
moralize the man. These are the dangers of the use of wines, or 
any other liquors, when drank as beverages by persons in health. 

And here, now, we can make a point to which special attention 
is invited.. Alcohol, in whatever quantities or forms it may be 
used, acts as the antagonist of the operations of nature. This is 
the law of its action upon living beings. No one who studies the 
whole question closely, will venture to pronounce this a random 
assertion. Take the case of the man when diseased, in the special 
manner demanding alcohol; the operations of nature are then per¬ 
verted, the laws of health are impaired, and the tendencies toward 
the dissolution of the body are accelerated: alcohol arrests the 
action of these perverted laws of the system, and affords time to 
the physician, or to nature, to recover the lost ground, and restore 
the healthy functions of the constitution. Take the man when in 
perfect health, and the unperverted operations of nature tend to 
perpetuate the vigorous condition of the body; alcohol disturbs the 
equilibrium between respiration and nutrition, retards the metamor- 




44 


The Fruit of the Vine. 


phosis of the tissues, induces morbid action in the system, produces 
torpidity of the liver, the bloating of the countenance, and a hun¬ 
dred other ills, which tell, with unerring certainty, that the health 
of the system has been overthrown. 

A remark or two, and we have done. The phrase—the use of 
wine in excess—has been employed. Wine, or other alcoholic 
drinks, can only be used consistently with the laws of health, when 
it is necessary to guard against the effects of a partial or total ces¬ 
sation of digestion, or in the deprivation of sufficient nutritious 
food. Any thing beyond this is unnecessary and must be consid- 
ere.d as in excess. Healthy men, who can afford an abundance of 
nutritious food, have no need of wine or other beverages contain¬ 
ing alcohol, and must suffer injury from their usej because they 
receive into the system an excess of the elements of respiration, 
which, if prolonged, must impair health. 

Intemperance is more prevalent, and its effects exhibited more 
prominently in the United States than in the wine countries of 
Europe; for the reason that, with us, nutritious food is more 
abundant than with them, and all our beverages, the native wines 
excepted, contain a much greater proportion of alcohol than is em¬ 
braced in their wines. 

It does not appear to be the plan of Divine Providence to be¬ 
stow his blessings upon men, otherwise than that they may be 
abused to the injury of the recipients. God does not choose to 
extirpate moral evil from the earth, but leaves men free to resist 
the influences of vice or to yield to its allurements. Many of the 
things that are essential to personal enjoyment or social welfare, 
when lawfully used, become the occasions of the greatest evils, 
personally and socially, when perverted from their original design. 
Herein it is that men are left in the enjoyment of their free 
agency, while, at the same time, they are held morally accountable 
for their acts. In perfect consistency with these principles, Paul 
could exhort Timothy to drink no longer water, but to use a little 
wine for his stomach’s sake and his often infirmities; while, but a 
short time previous, he had declared to the Corinthians, that no 
drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God. 





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